


Rewind

by shkanonyasutrice



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe, Childhood Sweethearts, Inspired by Life Is Strange, M/M, Slow Burn, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-06-29 10:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 114,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15727431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shkanonyasutrice/pseuds/shkanonyasutrice
Summary: Derry has always been a strange town to live in, but the true strangeness begins the day that Eddie Kaspbrak dies, and Richie realizes he has the power to save him. [Life is Strange AU]





	1. Switchblade

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is an It/Life is Strange AU, mainly exploring how the events of It would differ if time rewinding abilities had been present. A few things to note before beginning this fic: I'm mainly relying on novel-canon here, but I'm also borrowing a few things from movie-canon (example: Georgie is missing, not explicitly dead. Bill is still searching for him). I'm going to make brief reference to some events of the book (since I'm not here to just retell the entire novel), but if you want any further detail/clarification on events I reference, please feel free to DM me, or message me on tumblr at JudeWillem!
> 
> I also want to further warn that there are going to be distressing scenes in this story, just as a warning.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading!

On one hot summer day, Richie Tozier and Bill Denbrough had perched themselves on the curb of a pavement. The town had been quiet that day, as several residents had traveled to nearby beaches to get the most out of the sun. Kids such as Henry Bowers and his crew were stuck attending summer school due to their low grades, which meant that kids who happened to be unlucky enough to be stuck in glasses or with a stutter could be safe for a few hours.

Mostly safe, that is, except for the lurking threat in Derry that had claimed several children as victims since the previous year. Nobody knew who was targeting the children, but the mystery was something that had been on Bill’s mind since his brother’s death. In fact, it was weighing heavily on his mind as he sat next to his friend, who was simply staring out at the empty street.

Out of the corner of his eye, Richie spotted Bill opening and closing his mouth, as if he had something important to say, but didn’t know how to say it. Richie turned towards him, eying him up curiously. Bill tightened his lips and looked at him.

“Richie, I h-h-have t-to tuh-tuh-tell y-you suh-suh-suh-something,” he finally said, his brows furrowing.

“Bill,” Richie said, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I already know, you don’t have to say it. I’m in love with you too.”

Bill rolled his eyes and glared at Richie, who gave him an air kiss. After a moment had passed, Richie gave him an apologetic look.

“Okay, tell me already. I’m listening.”

Taking a deep breath, Bill slowly began to explain what was on his mind. His face turned red as he struggled to speak with his stutter, but Richie listened patiently. Slowly, he was told about how Bill had ventured into Georgie’s room a few nights ago, missing his brother badly that particular night. After flicking through a photo album for a few moments, a photo of Georgie had winked at him, and blood had started seeping from the photo. He had immediately run from the room, unable to process what he had seen. He had yet to venture back into his brother’s room, but the blood still remained pooled around the album, which led him to believe his parents weren’t able to see it.

“Wouldn’t your parents be purposely avoiding Georgie’s room? Bad memories, and all that?” Richie asked slowly.

“No. I-I-I luh-left the d-d-door open. They wuh-would have suh-suh-seen it,” Bill told him firmly.

He wasn’t sure how to process what he had just heard. In the past, he would have thought Bill was just recounting a story he was working on, but Richie had suffered from his own strange experience; the Paul Bunyan statue in Derry Park had come to life and tried to attack him one day when he was alone. He had tried to convince himself it had just been a weird dream, but hearing Bill recount his own strange encounter made him believe that something unusual was happening in Derry.

Although he didn’t mention this encounter, the look on his face must have given away that he was able to relate to Bill’s experience, as his friend gazed at him with both sympathy and relief. He was clearly worried that Richie would simply make fun of him and accuse him of pulling his leg.

“So, what do you want to do? Perform an exorcism on a photo book?” Richie asked, still not completely certain why Bill had chosen this moment to tell him this story.

“There’s suh-something else. E-E-Every time I pass Juh-Juh-Georgie’s room, I-I-I think of that h-h-house on N-N-Neibolt Street,” Bill explained, and gulped. “I think there’s suh-something about the t-t-truth about Juh-Georgie’s disappearance,” he said, and paused. “I want to go see what’s t-t-there.”

Richie gulped. The abandoned house on Neibolt Street was often discussed in hushed tones in the schoolyard, as it was widely believed to be haunted. If Bill was associating a possessed book with the house, and wanted to explore said house, it couldn’t possibly end well. 

“So, let me get this straight. While all the other kids are off eating a ton of ice cream and chilling at the beach, we’re going to be exploring the most haunted place in Derry and will probably die. Gee, we’re the luckiest kids in this town, great idea, Big Bill!” Richie said sarcastically, staring at his friend with a deadpan expression.

“Y-Y-You d-d-don’t have tuh-tuh-to do this, I-I j-j-just w-w-wanted-“ Bill begun, fiddling with the hem of his sleeve.

“Hey, I never said I wasn’t coming with you,” Richie interrupted, standing up and grabbing his bike, and quickly switched to one of his voices. “Come on, my good lad, we’ve got creepy abandoned houses to explore. Tally-ho!”

Bill rolled his eyes at Richie’s terrible British impression, but still felt grateful that he was willing to explore the house on Neibolt with him. He got up as well, hoisted himself onto his bike, and began to pedal down the street. Richie complained once more about how fast Bill’s bike was and pedaled faster to keep up.

As they made their way towards Neibolt Street, they passed a few estates. As Richie zoomed by, he caught a glimpse of a toddler falling off her trike and begun to wail. Her cry could still be heard as they biked on, but quickly faded as the boys could only hear the wind rushing by their ears. Overhead, a crow cawed as it flew by, causing Richie to raise his head and glance at it fly by. As his bike then wobbled, he regained his footing and kept pedaling.

Eventually, they arrived outside the dull, eerie-looking house on Neibolt Street. It clearly hadn’t been maintained in at least fifty years. The foundations looked like they could collapse at any given moment, which definitely didn’t reassure Richie about exploring it. He looked over at Bill, but saw that he still looked determined to see if there would be anything in the house leading to an explanation of Georgie’s whereabouts.

 _Okay, guess we’re doing this,_ Richie thought defeatedly, watching Bill’s actions carefully. Bill hopped off his bike and began to walk it around to the back of the house. Richie looked at him questioningly.

“W-We’ll stuh-stuh-stuh-start from the buh-buh-basement, a-a-and work our w-w-way u-u-up,” Bill explained, causing Richie to grimace. Everyone knew that in every horror movie, the true horrors lurked in the basement.

Nevertheless, he followed him and let his bike fall into the overgrown grass. Bill began to fiddle with the rusty, frail lock that kept the cellar entrance shut. With a harsh yank, the lock snapped and fell onto the ground with a thud. Opening the cellar doors, Bill began to make his way down into the darkness and looked expectantly over his shoulder. Reluctantly, Richie followed him down, trying to ignore how his legs were beginning to shake. 

The cellar smelled of something old and decaying. The sunlight flooded the cellar, revealing old furniture, abandoned decades ago. Mold creeped up the walls, and there was a faint dripping sound somewhere. Richie felt his heart thud against his chest, as he felt that something was terribly wrong in this place. Strangely enough, though, he couldn’t feel the presence of whatever had possessed the Paul Bunyan statue that day. Something about the atmosphere just made him feel uneasy, as if he had to stay on his guard.

“I d-d-don’t think it’s here,” Bill stated, proceeding towards the stairs leading up to the first level of the house.

“Great! Then let’s get out of here!” Richie exclaimed happily, exaggeratedly marching toward the steps leading into the back garden.

 _“Richie._ W-W-We gotta check u-u-upstairs,” Bill said sternly.

With a sigh, Richie turned around and followed Bill towards the stairs. With each passing minute, he was beginning to regret agreeing to this escapade. Of course, he’d follow Bill to the ends of the earth, but he still wished that he had tried to talk some sense into him before agreeing to this plan. Nothing about this house felt right, and there was an unsettling feeling he couldn’t shake off. But somehow, he felt like he _had_ to come here.

Bill held his breath as he made his way into the hallway, his footsteps creaking on the floorboards. Richie hesitated, but then began to follow him up. Halfway up the stairs, though, he heard a muffled sound from outside the house. He froze and then brushed past Bill.

“R-Richie?” Bill called, looking at him curiously. Richie held up a hand to shush him, and made his way further down the hall, wondering what he had heard. Then, before he could ponder any further, he heard a dreaded familiar voice.

“Kaspbrak, I’m talking to you! Where the fuck do you think you’re going?!” Henry Bowers’ aggressive voice resonated, easily audible through the house’s thin walls.

Richie scrambled to check his watch. He saw that summer school classes would have ended about fifteen minutes ago, which meant that Henry was free to terrorize the kids of Derry once more. What worried Richie the most though was the name he had called. There was only one kid in town with the surname that Henry had used; Eddie Kaspbrak, one of his closest friends, and definitely not strong enough to fight off any bullies.

“Bill, did you hear that?” Richie asked, turning back to him. Bill gave him a questioning look, indicating that he didn’t. Before he could explain, he heard more of the conversation outside.

“I’m sorry, I really need to get home, my ma—" Eddie began to explain timidly, before being cut off.

“I don’t give a shit what your ma wants. I know you’ve been spreading shit about me, you little weasel,” Henry barked back.

Bill gave Richie a concerned look, clearly hearing that part. They didn’t know anything about Eddie spreading rumours about Henry, but if they knew that Henry didn’t care whether or not his presumptions about Eddie were right. Once he was angry at somebody, he wouldn’t stop until he made them pay.

Richie began to stride down the hallway, which seemed to be full of random doors, but no front door in sight. He opened the door furthest down the corridor, leading to an old living room. The room was probably the brightest in the house, due to the giant window that faced over Neibolt Street. He looked frantically back, almost ready to leave the room to find the front door, but his eyes were then drawn to the scene outside the window.

Eddie seemed to shrink under Henry’s glare, as the older boy was advancing towards him. Even from this distance, Richie could make out that Eddie was trembling. He was slowly inching backwards, ready to run from Henry at any given moment.

“You want to know what I heard, Eddie? I heard you’ve been telling everyone _I’m_ the one taking all those kids that’re gone missing. That’s a pretty big accusation, you piece of shit. You got any reason for spreading that shit, huh?” Henry asked, taking another step towards Eddie.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I’ve never said anything like that!” Eddie cried, staring up at the boy in absolute terror.

 _“Don’t fucking lie to me!”_ Henry roared, and reached into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out something unidentifiable from Richie’s distance, except that it fit snugly in Henry’s palm.

 _“I’m not lying! I’m_ —” Eddie began, but then let out a gasping wheeze. He scrambled in a panic for his inhaler in his pocket, but his hands were trembling too much to steadily insert his hand into his pocket. 

“That’s all you got to say?” Henry asked, taking another step forward, clearly growing agitated by Eddie’s wheezing. “Stop fucking doing that and answer me you little _FUCK!”_

On that last word, Henry thrust the white object forward in a swift motion, pressing it against Eddie’s neck, and moved his thumb upward on a switch along the side. He dragged the object across his neck in a sloppy movement, and it was only when Richie saw the bloodied gleam of a blade that he realized Henry had been carrying a switchblade. 

For a moment, Richie could only watch with disbelief and numbness as Eddie’s hands moved to his throat, and fell backwards, blood bubbling from the gash. Henry took a step back, dropping the switchblade.

“Fuck… fuck! My old man’s gonna kill me! What the fuck did I just…?” Henry moaned, scrambling away, and out of sight of the window.

Richie’s eyes were still fixated on Eddie, his breath hitching in his throat. Did he really just stand there, gawking as one of his best friends got his throat slit by the town’s resident bully? The frozen spell seemed to lift at last, and his hands flew to his mouth, as he muffled the agonized scream that escaped his lips. _Oh god… did I just really just stand there and let that happen? How could I? How_ could _I?!_

“Richie! Richie, what—” Bill called from another room, but that’s all Richie heard. 

_Eddie oh god I’m so sorry I’m a useless friend a real friend would have—_

But then, at that exact moment, Bill’s voice and Richie’s thoughts were suddenly cut off.

In a flash, Richie was perched on the curb once more, Bill silently by his side. Richie looked around frantically, trying to absorb his surroundings. Just a moment ago, he had been in that dirty house on Neibolt Street and staring at Eddie’s dead body. But, for some reason, he was sitting on the curb with Bill once more. He reached behind him and ran his hand through the grass, as if to see if it was real, or if he was imagining all of this. The blades felt as real as they could be under his fingertips, which only made him more confused.

 _What just happened? Did I really just_ imagine _everything on Neibolt? That makes no sense. I really saw Eddie die. That couldn’t have been my imagination. No fucking way,_ he thought, staring down at his knees, trying to decipher what had happened.

“Richie, I h-h-have t-to tuh-tuh-tell y-you suh-suh-suh-something.” 

His head shot up, startled by Bill suddenly speaking to him. _He said that earlier. He isn’t going to tell me about the album again, is he?_

“This isn’t about a photo album, is it?” he blurted out in reply, before he could decide how to carefully assess the situation.

“Uh… A-Actually, y-y-yeah, it i-is. H-How’d you kn-kn-know?” Bill asked slowly.

“Lucky guess?” Richie replied in a tone too high. _Nice going, dumbass, now he’s suspicious,_ he scolded himself, but then paused to reflect. _He’s going to tell me about the photo album again. How did I know that was going to happen? What the hell’s going on here?_

He carefully listened to Bill’s story and recognized that he was stuttering in the exact same places as he did the first time he told this story. Richie was barely listening, instead trying to figure out what was going on. He knew how this conversation would proceed. Although he prided himself on having a colourful imagination, there was no way he would be able to predict every single word that would come out of Bill’s mouth. 

Trying to steady his shaking hands, Richie slowly reached the only logical conclusion; he had jumped back in time, back to the moment before he witnessed what happened to Eddie. His breath stopped, realizing this meant that the events he had witnessed would unfold once more; arriving at Neibolt, witnessing Henry confront Eddie from the window, and watching him get stabbed in the throat. He felt a shudder run up his body. _I can’t see that again. I can’t._

 _Unless I can stop it. I_ know _what’s going to happen. I can find some way to stop this,_ he thought, suddenly filled with newfound hope. He was still terrified by what had just happened, still unable to comprehend that he had jumped back through time. He was even more terrified by the fact that _he_ had caused this jump back in time, given how desperately he wished for the chance to save Eddie. But, that chance was here, and he knew he shouldn’t question it.

He barely caught Bill’s question about going to Neibolt, but instead of putting up the same level of protest, he immediately stood up and nodded.

“Yeah, let’s go,” he agreed, and Bill looked at him suspiciously, thinking he’d put up more of a protest. But he decided not to question it, merely relieved that he had someone to accompany him to the house on Neibolt Street.

Before Richie hoisted himself back on his bike, he looked around, figuring he should be prepared to see Henry once more. Under his feet was a scattering of gravel, and he decided that would work well enough. He scooped up a good handful and shoved it into the pocket of his shorts. Bill stared at him all the while in confusion, beginning to pedal on his bike.

“Y-Y-You’ve been a-a-acting k-k-kind of f-f-f-funny,” Bill said as Richie caught up to him.

“It’s nothing, Big Bill. Just your face weirding me out again,” Richie immediately replied, keeping his eyes on the road. That shut Bill up as they rode.

As they passed the estates nearby once more, Richie remembered the small details he had picked up on the first time. He kept his eyes fixed on the street as he passed it, and once again, saw the toddler fall off her tricycle and begin to wail. 

_Shit, this is all really happening again. I’m really back in time._

He looked at the sky with wide eyes, and saw the crow pass once more, cawing loudly. _Am I causing all of this? Did I wish so desperately to save Eddie that I came back to where I was before?_

Before he knew it, they were at Neibolt. Bill hopped off his bike and begun to wheel it around to the back of the house. Richie followed suit, but instead of watching Bill try to dismantle the old lock, he kept staring out at the front of the house. At any moment, he would see either Henry or Eddie passing, and an ugly confrontation would follow. He continued staring from behind the house, watching the road ahead.

“Richie? I-I-I broke the lock,” Bill called, eying him suspiciously.

When Richie didn’t respond, Bill walked over to him, squinting out at the road. He was going to question his friend but decided against it. Ever since Richie had predicted Bill talking about the photo album incident, he had been acting strange. But he knew more than enough about how strange things had become in Derry and figured that Richie had a good reason for behaving so oddly. So, he stood quietly by his side, trying to ignore the desperate need to enter the house and try to find some clue towards Georgie’s disappearance.

He heard Richie gasp slightly as Eddie suddenly came into view, strolling down the street. He spared a nervous glance towards the house but failed to spot his two friends. He picked up the speed, wanting to get away from the run-down house as quick as he could.

For some reason that Bill couldn’t decipher, there was a relieved expression on Richie’s face. He had no idea that Richie was in an incredible state of relief that Eddie was okay; the last time he saw him wouldn’t be him getting brutally murdered. He furrowed his brows in contemplation, trying to figure out whether he should call Eddie over. Before he could make up his mind, though, another voice rang out.

_“Kaspbrak!”_

Bill and Richie’s eyes widened at the sound of Henry’s voice. He sounded furious, and Richie knew exactly why. _This isn’t going to play out the same way._ He began to stride forward, furiously, when Bill caught his arm in a tight grip.

“What are you doing?! Let me go!” Richie protested, trying to yank himself away. He could hear the fight between Eddie and Henry unfolding, and knew time was running short. 

“Y-Y-You c-c-can’t fuh-fuh-face o-o-off a-a-against Buh-Buh-Bowers. H-He’ll kuh-kuh-kill you,” Bill protested, looking at him sternly.

“I _know_ he’s capable of killing, that’s why we have to go help Eddie! Now let me _go!”_

“N-N-No, Richie. W-W-We nuh-nuh-nuh-need a struh-struh-strategy—”

Richie groaned, unable to believe that one of his best friends was the one preventing him from saving Eddie. He simply glared at Bill and tried to pull his arm away. Bill held on tightly, resolved to protect Richie. Richie gave another forceful tug, causing Bill to grunt and tighten his grip.

 _“I’m not lying! I’m_ —” 

Up ahead, Richie heard Eddie began to wheeze, and looked pleadingly at Bill, who no longer looked so stubborn. At that moment, he looked worried, knowing that Eddie was in danger. His grip on Richie’s arm loosened, and the boy took off in a run, his heart pounding. 

_Please don’t let me be too late, please don’t let me—_

However, just as he reached the front of the house, he saw Henry press the switch once more. Richie held out his right hand, as if to stop him. Then, everything began to happen in reverse. Henry took a step back, and Richie could see the boys’ argument happening in reverse. His head was reeling, feeling that he was verging on a bad headache. _Oh fuck, oh fuck, all of this is happening in reverse._

He looked down at his hand, still held out. _Am I_ rewinding time? _What the everloving fuck is going on?!_

Panicked, he put his hand down, and time resumed. Henry was accusing Eddie of spreading rumours about taking the missing kids. Neither of them had spotted Richie, clearly immersed in the argument. While he was still reeling from the fact that he had really just controlled time, he knew he couldn’t waste the opportunity to save Eddie.

 _“Scram, Bowers! Beat it!”_ Richie screamed, reaching into his pocket.

Henry and Eddie looked up questioningly, Eddie’s eyes wide with confusion. Before either boy could see anything, Richie launched the gravel he had collected in Henry’s direction, where several small pebbles hit his eyes. With an angry cry, he held his hands over his eyes, cursing. 

“Richie? What’s going on?” Eddie asked quietly, in disbelief that he had just been saved from the ugly unfolding confrontation.

At that moment, Bill came running to the front of the house, glancing between the three boys.

“W-W-Where d-d-did Buh-Buh-Buh-Bowers a-a-and—” he began to ask, but Richie cut him off, hopping on his bike.

“No time to listen to you stutter all day. Eds, I’ll explain later. Just hop on my bike now. We gotta get out of here,” he said quickly, staring at Henry, who was still clutching his eyes. “He’s not gonna stay down for long.”

 _“I’ll kill you little fuckers!”_ Henry screamed, which launched Bill and Eddie into action, even though they were still completely confused by what had just happened.

Bill hopped on his bike, pedaling as fast as he could. He looked over his shoulder at Neibolt with a pang of regret. He promised himself he would do everything he could to uncover the mystery behind Georgie’s disappearance, and he still had a strong premonition that the answer was in that house, which he was pedaling away from. He was determined to return, with or without his friends’ help.

Eddie climbed on the back of Richie’s bike, clinging tightly to his waist. With that, Richie began to cycle. Eddie’s heart was pounding, and he was counting his lucky stars that his asthma didn’t act up, even though from the moment Henry confronted him, he felt that he was verging on an asthma attack. Richie seemed to step in exactly at the right moment, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that his friend had prevented something terrible happening to him.

As he tightened his grip around Richie’s waist, the other boy was lost in his thoughts. He didn’t know what was going on. He _knew_ he had seen Eddie die, but had gained the chance to prevent it through an unexplained ability to rewind time. There’s no possible way that should’ve been possible, but he knew it had happened. He had saved Eddie’s life, and that confirmation was drilled into him with every rapid beat of Eddie’s heart against his back. He was incredibly afraid of what had happened and the possibility that he had just discovered something about himself that would change his life forever. But, that was on par with the relief he felt of having Eddie close to him, alive and safe, putting all his trust in Richie with his tight grip.


	2. Lucky Coin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, forgot to mention in the last chapter, but in terms of the timeline, this takes place around the time that Bill and Richie fought the werewolf on Neibolt, so at this point, Mike is the only loser left to join (but he, along with the other losers, will make an appearance soon!)

As soon as the boys were certain that Henry wasn’t going to come chasing after them, they slowed down on their bikes. They rode in silence, trying to figure out what just happened, especially Richie. He was torn between mentally replaying the events that had unfolded over the past half hour and the sensation of Eddie holding onto him. He was still shaken up from witnessing his death, but somehow, by some twist in the universe, he was safe once more. 

Richie kept following Bill, until he eventually realized that Bill was riding back towards his own house. He began to slow down as he approached the house, and once he braked, he hopped off and waited for Richie and Eddie to catch up.

As soon as Richie came to a stop, Eddie let go and got off. It was only then that Richie realized how tightly Eddie had been holding on and felt like his stomach had been released from a vice grip. Even though his mind was already overflowing with possible snarky comments to make, he found that he actually didn’t particularly mind. Besides, he found himself too mentally exhausted from the afternoon’s events to decide on a comment. Without saying anything, he got off his bike too, and noticed that Bill and Eddie were looking at each other with indecipherable expressions, before looking back at Richie.

“O-O-Okay, whuh-whuh-what h-h-h-happened buh-buh-back there?” Bill asked, folding his arms and gazing steely at him.

“Huh? What’re you talking about?” Richie asked, and laughed nervously. He looked at Eddie, hoping he would join in with shrugging off Bill’s question, but Eddie simply stared at the ground, as if in contemplation.

“Y-Y-You _knew_ suh-suh-something b-b-b-bad was g-g-gonna huh-huh-huh—” Bill stuttered, his face turning red as he struggled to get the words out.

Richie knitted his brows, feeling his stomach drop. He had been completely unsubtle about his newfound powers and he knew it. It was only natural that Bill, who had a much sharper sense of observation, would pick up on his strange behavior. But the trouble was that he had no idea how to explain his abilities to manipulate time to him. _I have no idea how to deal with any of this on my own, though,_ he thought, watching Bill struggle to get the words out, _ask me what happened, and help me understand this._

“Bill, there you are!”

The three boys turned, and saw that Sharon, Bill’s mother, was standing in the doorframe. Richie waved a hand in a weak wave, and Eddie followed suit. Bill stopped stuttering, looking frustrated that he had been unable to get an answer from Richie before being interrupted. 

“I tuh-tuh-told you I-I-I was huh-huh-huh-hanging o-o-out with R-R-Richie,” Bill replied, hoping his mother wouldn’t press too hard with questions, as he wasn’t keen to answer on their expedition to Neibolt.

“I know, I know, you’ve just been gone a while, that’s all. Mind coming in now and helping me with the dishes?” she asked.

Bill bit his lip, glancing between Richie and his mother. While he wanted an explanation to his friend’s strange behaviour at Neibolt, but it was a rarity for his mother to show genuine emotion towards Bill since Georgie’s death. When those fleeting opportunities arose, he knew better than to waste them. He craved any fleeting moments that his mother showed she still cared about him, and he prioritized those moments over everything else. 

“W-W-We’ll tuh-tuh-talk l-l-l-l-later,” Bill told the two boys, and strode towards his mother. She spared a glance at Richie and Eddie before closing the front door, leaving them alone.

There was a moment of silence between Richie and Eddie. Judging by the way that Eddie was fidgeting, occasionally looking up at Richie, it was clear that he was processing Bill’s suspicion towards Richie too.

“So, uh… want to head to the park or something?” Richie offered, feeling uncomfortable with the awkward silence between them. _So much for trying to act casual about this,_ he thought.

“Sure,” Eddie said with a shrug, still looking as if he had a lot on his mind.

They began to walk in the direction of the park quietly. Occasionally glancing over at Eddie Richie already knew there’d probably be uncomfortable questions to come. But, just as he thought earlier when Bill questioned him, he knew a part of him wanted to reveal everything that was going on. He felt that trying to deal with his newfound powers would be easier to cope with if someone else knew about them. He felt himself calm a little at that thought.

He also knew that if he had to choose who to tell first, it would be Eddie. While Bill would probably know the best thing to say, he felt that it was right that Eddie would be the first to know, considering he used his powers to save him. It was not only down to that reasoning, but also that he _wanted_ Eddie to know, more than any of the other Losers. He always felt that he trusted Eddie with more than just the usual things—whenever he would confide in him, he didn’t feel judged, or that Eddie was thinking it was weird to hear something serious coming from Richie ‘Trashmouth’ Tozier. He listened, and with empathy.

Lost in his thoughts, Richie didn’t even realize that they had come close to the park. When he looked down at Eddie, he saw that the boy was examining him suspiciously. As soon as their eyes met, they both looked away, flustered.

“What’cha staring at me like that for, Eds?” Richie mumbled.

“Wasn’t _staring._ It’s just really weird to see you not talking. Like, _really_ weird,” Eddie said, squinting at him.

“I was just mentally practicing my newest voice,” Richie explained seriously, and then, after clearing his throat, put on the worst Bronx accent he could have mustered, “Liiiike this! Bada-bing, bada-boom, whattya think?”

“Richie, that’s literally the worst voice I’ve ever heard, and that’s saying a lot,” Eddie said with a groan and shook his head, “And I really don’t think everyone in New York says that.”

Richie shrugged, knowing this debate could go on for hours if one of them didn’t drop it first, and quietly sat down on the nearest park bench. Eddie sat beside him, staring down at his knees. After another few moments of silence, he looked up, and Richie had a feeling that he knew what was coming next.

“I think Bill’s right about weird happening back at Neibolt, but I just want you to know that I don’t care what exactly happened. You saved me, so I just wanna say, well… thanks. That was really nice of you,” Eddie mumbled, sounding embarrassed.

“Um. No problem,” Richie eventually spluttered back.

He wanted to reply with something that would have made Eddie cringe, like overblowing the entire situation and making a long-winded speech about how he was his knight in shining armor, but he figured for once, he wouldn’t let his running mouth ruin the moment. This wasn’t what he was expecting to hear from Eddie, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

“No comeback?” Eddie asked, eyebrows raised, but quickly moved on before Richie could reply. “Okay, but really, you should’ve seen yourself. You threw _gravel_ at Bowers! That’s got to be one of the bravest things ever done in Derry. Don’t get me wrong, it was also a really dumb thing to do, but it means a lot that you did it to protect me. Bowers is probably capable of some really scary stuff. I don’t even want to know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t showed up.”

Richie gulped and felt himself shudder. The image of the bloody gash in Eddie’s throat recurred in his mind once more, and he couldn’t bring himself to bask in the praise he was receiving. What he had witnessed had terrified him to his very core, and he knew he’d do a dozen other reckless things to prevent Henry from ever hurting Eddie like that again. 

“Richie? Are you feeling okay?”

He looked up, and saw that Eddie was looking at him with concern. _Oh god, I’m really going to have to tell him,_ he thought. Richie took in a deep breath and gazed at him with complete seriousness.

“Well, the thing is, Bill was right about something weird happening back at Neibolt. Something happened to me, and what I’m going to tell you is going to sound crazy, but you have to believe me. I’m not pulling your leg about this, I promise,” he said. Eddie regarded him with some suspicion, but when he saw how serious he looked, he nodded.

“Okay, I’m listening. You’re scaring me a little, you know.”

“Sorry, but that’s only the beginning of how weird this is going to get. So… look, Bowers _was_ going to do a lot more to you. He was going to kill you,” Richie explained, and felt a pang of guilt when he saw Eddie’s face pale, but he continued. “I know that because I _saw_ it happen to you. But then… fuck, I don’t even know how to explain it. I don’t know how, but I was able to rewind time, and stop it from happening. I know it sounds crazy, but… but there’s no way I imagined it. I don’t know how this happened, or why, but I can control time.”

He let out a deep sigh, feeling like a major weight had been lifted from his chest. He observed how Eddie had begun to tremble, and his breath was approaching that familiar high, whistling sound. He fumbled for his aspirator in his pocket, but his hand was trembling too much. Richie reached over, grabbed the inhaler, brought it to Eddie’s mouth, and pressed down to release the blast of air. Eddie let out a sigh and stared down at his feet.

“You okay?” Richie asked. It took Eddie a moment to think of a response.

“You can’t just say that I got murdered and that you saved me by traveling back in time and expect me to take it well,” he whispered.

“It’s a lot to take in, I’m not gonna deny that. Seeing that happen to you right in front of me—” Richie stopped himself, shaking his head. While he wore his heart on his sleeve when it came to Eddie, he couldn’t bring himself to be this open. “But do you believe me? I’ve been freaking out about all this time travel shit and it’s been less than an hour. I need to know I’m not gone crazy. 

“…I do believe you. Kind of. I don’t know. Is there any way you can show me it right now? So I know it’s for real?” Eddie asked. 

Richie felt brief panic that Eddie thought he was crazy, but then tried to picture it from his perspective. He had just been told by one of his best friends that he had been killed but then revived due to time travel. It sounded insane, but the past few months in Derry had proven that anything was possible in this town. Perhaps Eddie had his own encounter with the strangeness lurking around, like the Paul Bunyan statue or the bleeding photo album. All he needed was for Richie to prove at that moment that he was capable of controlling time.

After a moment of thinking about it, Richie had settled on a way to prove himself.

“Okay. Show me all the medication you’ve brought with you today,” Richie instructed. 

Eddie gave him a funny look, but pulled out the contents of his pockets anyway. In his cupped palms, he held his inhaler, a box of aspirin that was slightly dented in the corner, and a small tub of Vitamin C tablets, which was nearly empty.

“Okay, that’s good,” Richie said.

“That’s it? What’s that going to prove?” Eddie asked.

Richie held up a hand to shush him, and carefully observed the park’s surroundings. There were a few small groups around chatting, but nothing of particular interest was happening. That was the case until they heard the sound of a bike zooming toward the park, and Stan Uris came pedaling through. He had his bird book held tightly under his armpit, which made for an awkward bike ride as he tried to control the handles. 

As he moved his arm forward to control the handlebars as he accidentally veered to the left, the bird book slipped from under his arm, and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Richie snorted as Stan clambered off his bike to pick up the book.

“Nice going, Stan!” he called out. Eddie glared at him.

“Are you okay?” he asked to counter Richie.

“Yeah, fine, good. Can’t stop. Dad said someone saw a red-winged starling by the kissing bridge. Do you know how rare they are to be seen in—I’ll tell you about it later,” Stan explained as quick as he could, barely stopping to take a breath. Without another moment of hesitation, he was back on the bike and zooming off towards the bridge.

Eddie turned to Richie once more, getting impatient about the fact that Richie had done nothing to prove his time traveling abilities yet. Once again, Richie held up a hand to shush him, and watched as he saw someone new enter the park.

It was Mr. Peterson, the history teacher at their school. He was a tall young man with large green eyes and dirty blond hair that was often kept messy. He had only joined the school faculty back in October, but in that time, he had managed to win over many of the students, the Losers included. He made his history lessons actually interesting and encouraged them to engage with the subject. He even approved of Richie’s (frankly terrible) impression of the Irish settlers, praising him for being so lively about the town’s history. This left Richie with a good impression of the man.

At this current moment, he was striding into the park, book bag slung over his shoulder. He was swinging his arms and whistling an upbeat tune. Richie felt bad for Mr. Peterson, as the newest and youngest member of the faculty, he was landed with the chore of tutoring summer schoolers, including Henry Bowers. It was a relief for Richie to see him in high spirits, despite having to spend several hours a day with the worst kid in America, at least in Richie’s opinion.

Mr. Peterson caught sight of the two boys and began to walk in their direction. _Right, that can wait for later. For now, it’s time to prove this all to Eddie._ Taking a deep breath, Richie held his palm out once more and closed his eyes. He focused all his energy into the same motion he carried out earlier and rewound. He looked down at Eddie’s hands, as they showed the contents of his pocket, and once the contents were slipped back into his pocket, he stopped.

“…I do believe you. Kind of. I don’t know. Is there any way you can show me it right now? So I know it’s for real?” Eddie asked. Richie nodded, almost resisting the urge to grin. Although he was still scared, his terror was almost triumphed by his satisfaction in proving himself right.

“Okay. In a second, Stan’s going to ride by here. He’s going to drop his book, I’m going to shout something at him, but he’s not going to stop and argue because he wants to go see a red-winged starling. And then, we’re gonna see Mr. Peterson walk through here. He’s gonna be whistling something, and then he’s gonna spot us,” Richie told him.

“When?” Eddie asked.

“In a second. Jeez, Eddie, patience! For now, though, I’m gonna tell you exactly what’s in your pocket,” Richie said, and adjusted his glasses, sitting upright. “Inhaler, box of aspirin that’s kind of dented, and you have four Vitamin C tablets left.”

Eddie studied Richie cautiously, and slowly pulled out the three items in his pocket. He examined the dented pill box, and then counted the amount of Vitamin C tablets. He looked up slowly at Richie, and the vitamins began to rattle in the tub as Eddie began to tremble once more.

“Did you look beforehand—”

“Hold on, Eds." 

Once again, Stan zoomed through the park and dropped his bird book. Richie made a comment at him once again, but it felt more forced than the first time. Eddie’s mouth was agape when Stan mentioned the red-winged starling and promptly drove off, and Richie couldn’t help but poke his arm, causing him to turn toward him.

“Close your mouth, bud, you’re gonna catch flies,” he said.

“I—you—you even named the bird he’d mention,” Eddie replied, stunned. Richie couldn’t help but grin. He knew at this point that Eddie fully believed him. For the first time, he didn’t feel completely alone with these powers.

It looked as if Eddie had more to say, but then, he turned toward the direction of another sound; Mr. Peterson whistling. Once again, he made eye contact with the boys, and started to walk toward them. When he reached them, they were once again reminded of just how tall he was, as he seemed to loom over them. 

“Richie, Eddie! Enjoying the summer?” he asked warmly. Richie crossed his legs, laid his elbow on top of one, assumed the thinker position, and put an exaggerated contemplative expression

“Quite, my good sir, quite. But one would much rather be inside studying all summer, would you not agree?” he replied in one of his voices. This voice he had deemed ‘The Academic’, but any of the Losers would agree that it sounded identical to his British voice, which was also abysmal. While it would make the Losers groan, Mr. Peterson grinned at him, amused.

“Summer’s fine,” Eddie replied quietly. Judging by his pale face, Richie figured he was still trying to take in what he had just experienced. _He’s even more freaked out by this than I was. Yikes,_ Richie thought, looking at him with concern.

“Is everything okay, Eddie? You look a little sick,” Mr. Peterson said, turning from amused to concerned.

He knelt down so that he was at their eye level. Richie and Eddie shared a look. They knew exactly what was wrong with Eddie, but they couldn’t exactly explain what had just happened. As much as Richie liked Mr. Peterson, he was pretty low on the list of people he wanted to tell about his powers. The Losers were going to be the top priority for that. 

The muted conversations around the park suddenly became much more noticeable in the silence that stretched between the three of them. Mr. Peterson frowned at the growing silence. Being at eye level for a change, Richie was able to notice every aspect of his expression; the worry in his eyes, the look that conveyed that he wanted to help. _Shit, better give him some answer, huh?_ he thought. 

“Bowers was picking on Eddie a while ago,” Richie said.

It was technically true, but he almost regretted choosing that excuse, as Eddie gulped at the mention of Henry again. Mr. Peterson also didn’t look happy at the mention of him.

“That boy… He’s in my class this summer. He’s certainly a handful, isn’t he? I’ll do my best with him, but… If he keeps bullying you, just come to me, and I’ll do all I can to help you out. I’ll get the school board and his parents involved, if needs be,” he said sternly, looking visibly upset. He rubbed Eddie’s arm. “I’m sorry he’s got you so upset.” 

“It’s alright. But thanks for looking out for me, Mr. Peterson,” Eddie replied, forcing himself to smile. Then, he looked as if he just remembered something. “Oh, please don’t mention this to my ma. She’ll freak if she hears about this.”

“Secret’s safe with me. Now, I got to get moving, but you boys be careful, okay?” the teacher told them, standing up.

Adjusting the strap of his book bag, he stood up once more and began to walk away. He turned back and gave them a small wave before proceeding further down the path. Once he was gone, Richie turned to Eddie. 

“So, you believe me completely now?” he asked, a little too eager.

“Yeah… Yeah, I believe you. That’s all really hard to dispute. But _how?_ People don’t get powers like that,” Eddie said, shaking his head.

“I don’t know. I have no clue why I have them, but I _had_ to tell someone. You understand that, right?”

“I do. And, well… I’m pretty glad you decided to tell me. And while all that stuff with Henry is still freaking me out like crazy, what you did is even more important to me now. I don’t think I can ever thank you enough.”

Eddie glanced around and looked like he was contemplating doing something. His arms twitched, and Richie realized he intended to hug him. He sat up straight, feeling a little paranoid of the various groups around the park. But it seemed that Eddie had similar concerns, and instead reached into the pocket that he didn’t show Richie. He held his hand out in a fist.

“Hold out your hand, I want to give you something. Just a little thanks,” Eddie told him, and Richie complied.

Eddie opened the fist and dropped a little object into Richie’s palm. He examined it. At first, he got excited upon noticing that it was a coin, and thought that Eddie had just provided him with a free pass into the next movie he wanted to see. But that excitement waned once he saw that there was a strange decorative marking on it instead of an indication of the coin’s amount. On the coin, there was a hexagon pattern, and although the coin was silver, the pattern reminded him of a turtle’s shell.

“Uh… Eddie? Thanks, but what’s this?” Richie asked, clearly confused.

“I found it on my way down the path earlier today. I pocketed it, mainly ‘cause I liked the look of it and thought it’d be a lucky coin. In a way, I guess it was, since you saved me. So I want you to have it,” Eddie explained, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

“Oh, Eds, I’ll treasure it for all time!” he exclaimed dramatically, causing Eddie to scowl at him.

Richie grinned at him apologetically, trying to show that he was sincerely touched that Eddie would give him his lucky coin. He put it in his own pocket. He opened his mouth to offer him a more sincere thanks, trying to think of how to phrase—

The world became black.

Richie froze. He blinked.

In that split second, the warmth of the day vanished, and instead he felt a spine-chilling coldness, and furious, icy drops against his skin. He opened his eyes.

_A storm. He was sheltered underneath a concrete awning, but the storm was in full view. Debris flew through the sky: bits of roofs, bench furniture, plastic letters from the marquee, swing sets. Not a soul in sight through the furious rain, which seemed to encompass anything. Everything. The wind screamed, carrying everything with it. Distinct crashes in the distance._

_Something terrible was happening in Derry. Something unstoppable._

_Richie, staring at the storm, feeling more terrified than he ever felt in his entire life. Heart hammering. This fear was indescribable—it made the fear he felt the day Paul Bunyan attacked him feel like nothing in comparison—_

_Shaking._

_He was shaking._

He was being shaken.

_“Richie?!”_

Richie blinked once more, and suddenly the sun was back. Derry was peaceful; there was no storm. All that he could see was Eddie’s panicked face, which was right in front of his own. Eddie was clutching his arms with an unexpected level of intensity.

“Huh? Eddie, did you see that?” he asked, his voice trembling. 

“See what? You just started shaking really heavily, like you were, I don’t know, having a seizure or something. You were completely gone for a second,” Eddie explained. “What did you see?”

“I… I don’t know. It was probably nothing. Zoned out for a second.”

“Richie, that wasn’t nothing.”

“Okay. I don’t know exactly _how_ to describe it, but… I can just tell you it was disastrous. I saw something really, really bad, and with these stupid powers, I don’t know if it really happened or not. This is already getting so fucking confusing,” Richie groaned, running his hands through his hair. 

Eddie bit his lip, looking down. He knew Richie was hiding something from him, but he knew that even if he told him, Eddie would have no idea how to help. Even though he was grateful that Richie had confided in him first, he knew that he needed a support group, specifically, the Losers’ Club. And the first person they knew who would be able to handle this with logic and reason was their leader, Bill. 

After slowly explaining his logic to Richie, the other boy remained quiet for a moment, but then nodded. He knew there would be no point in hiding this from the rest of the Losers. 

“Bill will probably be able to figure out if there’s a reason I’m able to control time, right?” he said. 

“Right. He’ll be able to help out for sure.”

“Okay, let’s go tell him,” he agreed, “But hey, one last thing. I don’t regret telling you first. If there’s anyone I want on my side through this, it’s you.”

Eddie had no clue how to respond, so just left it at that, and they began to make their way to Bill’s house. He walked slightly ahead, though, so Richie couldn’t see the smile and slight blush that had appeared on his face.

* * *

 

Once they knocked at Bill’s door, he came out wearing bright yellow gloves up to his elbows. Richie couldn’t help but laugh for a good moment before finally moving on to tell Bill.

“I think you want an explanation about what happened at Neibolt,” Richie said.

“O-O-Obviously.”

Richie and Eddie shared a look, and slowly, Richie began to explain what happened, from the moment they had been sitting on that curb, all the way up to his sudden blacking out. Eddie interjected frequently, backing up Richie’s claims about predicting what was in his pockets, and what would happen with Stan and Mr. Peterson.

Once they finished, Bill stood there in silence, taking in slow, deep breaths. It looked like he had something important on his mind, and hope sprung in Richie’s mind. Of course Bill would be the one to figure all this out. _He should’ve been the one with these powers, not me,_ he thought.

“Y-Y-You suh-suh-suh-saved E-E-E-Eddie from d-d-d-d-death,” he stated simply, after a minute.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Richie replied slowly, not sure why Bill was focusing on that particular point.

“Y-Y-You cuh-cuh-can prevent d-d-d-deaths.” 

Richie and Eddie shared a look, finally realizing what Bill had on his mind.

“I… yeah, I guess.” 

“There’s o-o-o-only o-o-one thing I-I-I-I want i-i-in l-l-life. To bruh-bruh-bring Juh-Juh-Juh-Juh-Georgie back,” Bill said, his voice cracking. “Richie, i-i-i-if y-y-y-you have those puh-puh-puh-puh-powers, _please.”_

“Bill, I—”

 _“Please._ Y-Y-Y-You’ll chuh-chuh-chuh-change e-e-e-everything f-f-f-f-for the buh-buh-better,” he said, and then, his mom called him. He turned around, but looked back at them. “I-I-I believe you. That’s whuh-whuh-why I-I-I-I need you to do this. Buh-Buh-But… also, be c-c-careful.”

With that, Bill closed the door. Richie sunk onto the porch step, and Eddie sat down beside him. Clearly, time traveling abilities were something that couldn’t even be processed logically by their group leader. All Richie could do was learn how to use them for the better. 

“Richie, you don’t have to do this,” Eddie told him quietly. Richie shook his head.

“I want to do this, Eds. I used my powers for good to save you, so why can’t I try and save other kids? No one has to die at the hands of… whatever’s causing this. I’m going to go back to last October and save Georgie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Once again, any feedback would be loved and appreciated!


	3. Last October

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning, there's going to be some descriptions that might be distressing, since we're returning to the scene between Georgie and Pennywise!

Eddie shook his head.

“Richie, you can’t do that. That’s too far back to travel, and… and what if something really bad happened to Georgie? Like, something that would kill you in the process if you tried to save him?” he said, his voice full of worry.

Richie gulped. He hadn’t even considered the possibility that he could endanger his own life by trying to save Georgie. B _ut still… If this was a bad idea, Bill would’ve said so. He wouldn’t let me go into some reckless fight._ Despite his faith in Bill, he knew Eddie had a point.

“I’ll be as safe as I can!” he said, trying to force a positive tone. When he saw that Eddie was still frowning, he continued speaking. “Okay, how about this? If something really bad’s about to happen, I’ll fast forward to the present immediately. Sound good?”

Eddie hummed, thinking it over. After a few moments, Richie realized he still wasn’t completely on board with the idea.

“What do you want me to do? I’ve got to at least try this for Bill!” he said.

“I know, I get that! But… I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling about all this, especially if it’s just going to be you going out there alone. So, I have a small idea. Before you go find Georgie, how about you come over to my house and get me to come? So you’re not completely alone in this?” Eddie suggested.

“Huh? You really think you’d come with me out in the storm?” Richie asked, astounded. When Eddie nodded, he snorted. “You’re not gonna come out into that storm. I don’t even need to try it.”

“Hey, you don’t know that!”

“So you’re telling me that back then, if I told you to come outside in that crazy ass storm, you would’ve come?”

Eddie was silent. He folded his arms.

“Fine, okay. My past self might need convincing, but try what you can, okay? I know that if you wanted me there bad enough, I would come,” he said, and in a quieter voice, he added, “I just don’t want you to face any of this alone. I can tell you’re scared of all that’s been going on.”

Richie stared at him in confusion. _Have I really been that obvious about how much this is affecting me?_ he thought. Even though he felt a little uncomfortable about having his feelings be so obvious, he was also touched that Eddie was so worried about him. Wanting to get rid of the intense atmosphere, he reached over and ruffled Eddie’s hair, causing him to groan and take a step away from him.

“Thanks, Eds. That’s sweet of you. And don’t worry, I’ll do what I can to get your help,” Richie said, grinning. Then, the grin faltered a little. “Well… I guess I should get around to it, huh?”

Eddie bit his lip and reached up to give his shoulder a small squeeze. Richie smiled at him once more, and then stared out at the empty street Taking a deep breath, Richie focused himself. He held out his left palm, and squeezed his eyes shut. He thrust his other hand into his pocket, holding on tightly to the coin Eddie had given him for a good luck charm. Then, he focused all his energy envisioning the previous October, during that dreadful storm. He tried to remember every little detail of the rain patterns he had watched, what comic he had been reading in his room that day, and what movie his parents had been watching, that he could have heard from his own room.

Instead of the rewinding that he had become accustomed to, time seemed to jump backwards in one flash, similar to what had happened after witnessing Eddie die. Before he opened his eyes, he heard the heavy pattering of rain against his window.

When he finally opened his eyes, Richie could see that he was back in his bedroom. He was sitting upright on his bed, staring out the window. He inched back further on his bed, and looked up at the calendar that hung nearby and saw that it read October 7th. He took in a shuddering breath, unable to believe he had really traveled back several months, and could make a difference to what happened to Georgie.

He could hear the movie that his parents were watching. When a good film was on, they tended to become completely engrossed, which gave Richie a bit of leeway to escape. Quietly, he opened his bedroom door, and tiptoed past the living room. He let out a sigh of relief once he was certain his parents wouldn’t be coming after him. He proceeded further down the hallway.

Before he opened the front door, he noticed his coat hanging up the rack nearby. He figured that if he was going to venture into the pouring rain without a coat, Eddie would never let him hear the end of it. He snatched it off the rack, quickly threw it on, and left the house, closing the front door as gently as he could.

He ran down the street, taking a left to get to Eddie’s house. As he picked up the speed, water splashed up from under his feet, where it then continued run down in a stream. The rain felt icy, and despite his coat providing him with some warmth, Richie was already beginning to shiver. He picked up the pace, wiping at his glasses frequently due to the droplets of rain disrupting his vision.

Eventually, he found himself outside the Kaspbrak household. He knew knocking at the front door would only result in Eddie’s mom slamming the door in his face. So, he made his way to the back of the house, peeking in the kitchen window.

To his luck, Eddie was already in the kitchen. He was preparing himself a sandwich, carefully spreading peanut butter across a slice, sticking his tongue out a little as he concentrated. Richie watched for a moment, before approaching the window and giving a loud knock, causing Eddie to flinch.

He looked over at the window, fear quickly turning to annoyance when he saw Richie standing there, waving at him. For a second, Richie was worried he would just go back up to his room, but much to his relief, Eddie approached the window and opened it.

“Nice day, huh?” Richie quipped. Eddie frowned.

“I obviously can’t come out and play. You should go home too or else you’ll get a cold that’ll kill you,” Eddie lectured him.

He moved to close the window, but Richie reached out a hand.

“Wait, no! I didn’t come to goof around or anything. This is serious,” he said, catching the other boy’s attention. “Georgie’s in trouble.”

That caused Eddie to freeze. Richie knew how much he doted over Georgie in the past, making sure he always wore a scarf in cold weather, and covering his ears whenever Richie let out a stream of profanity. To hear that he was in trouble would definitely catch his attention.

“What’s going on?” he asked softly.

“He’s out playing in the storm, and… and I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, but it’s not anything good. I don’t think I can help him alone. Come with me?”

Eddie bit his lip and looked over his shoulder, towards the living room. He knew his mother wouldn’t react well to him going out in the storm, but he couldn’t ignore how much Richie needed his help. After a moment of consideration, he turned around, grabbed his coat that was hung on a peg on the back of the kitchen door, and made his way for the window.

Grinning, Richie took his hands, helping ease him out. Eddie kept glancing backwards, afraid that his mother was going to walk into the kitchen at any given moment. Before she could even possibly suspect anything, Richie managed to pull Eddie out the window and close it behind him. As soon as rain began pattering on Eddie’s coat, he shuddered and hugged himself.

“If this is all one big prank, we’re not going to be friends anymore,” he said.

“Hurtful! And it’s not, I promise. Quick, we’ve got to get to, uh…” Richie paused, thinking of where a witness said they had last seen Georgie. “Witcham! You’ve gotta bring us there, ‘cause you’re better with directions, and besides, I can’t see shit right now.”

He rubbed at his glasses again, but more drops replaced the ones he had just wiped off. The instructions were clear enough to Eddie, though, and he started to walk in the direction of Witcham. His red coat blurred through Richie’s glasses, but he was able to keep up.

“How do you know Georgie’s in trouble there? Were you with him?” Eddie asked, turning back to him.

“Uh… I’ll explain when we get there. Now, c’mon, we’ve got to pick up the pace!”

With that, Eddie began to jog lightly, Richie not far behind. Richie was silent, trying to figure out exactly what their plan of action should be. It was difficult, since all that was known was that Georgie mysteriously disappeared. _Please don’t let us be too late. What the hell even happened to Georgie? The lady that saw him just said he was looking into a gutter one minute, and the next he was… gone. I don’t like the sound of this._

“Hey, I see him!” Eddie exclaimed.

Through the drops, Richie was able to make out a yellow shape in the distance, and remembered that Bill had told him the last thing he had been seen wearing was a yellow rain slicker. While he wasn’t exactly sure what Georgie was up to, all he knew was that he had managed to arrive before anything bad happened to him.

“Georgie, over here! Over—”

Before he could raise his voice, there was a sickening crunch and Georgie let out a howl. Eddie cautiously took a step forward, clutching tightly onto Richie’s arm, but then screamed when he saw what was wrong.

Bill’s brother was now limping away from the sewers, half of one arm missing. There was only a stump left, the blood from it mingling in with the water streaming down into the drain. He cried out his brother’s name, panicked and terrified.

Eddie’s breath was beginning to grow light and sharp, but Richie’s main priority was helping Georgie. He ran forward, Eddie gulping and running after him. As they came closer, Georgie looked up, still howling. However, there was no mistaking the reassurance that crossed his face. He was able to get helped. He could be saved.

Richie reached down, but then at that moment, a white glove slithered out of the sewers. It grabbed Georgie’s ankle, and pulled him down into the gutter, his scream echoing for a moment, and then there was just the sound of the pouring rain.

Eddie looked at Richie, his eyes full of panic, but Richie was still fixated on the sewer. For a moment, there was nothing, but he kept watching anyway, his heart racing. Then, a pair of glowing, yellow eyes appeared in the darkness, fixated on his own. There was a chuckle, and then, the eyes faded into the darkness once more.

“That… The eyes… The leper’s eyes…” Eddie wheezed, shaking.

 _Leper?_ Richie thought, staring at him. But he knew those questions would have to wait for later. For now, he knew he only needed to travel back a short amount of time to save Georgie. They had only been seconds too late. Knowing what he had to do, Richie held out his palm and focused his energy.

The scene began to rewind in front of him. He kept going until he saw a paper boat slip out of the sewers and stopped there. When time resumed, the boat zoomed toward the sewers. He heard Eddie running to catch up with him.

“You were behind me a second ago! How’d you end up here?!” he asked.

“Just been blessed with super speed—”

_“No!”_

They heard Georgie’s frustrated cry as he caught up with the paper boat, just in time to see his paper boat slip into the drain. Richie turned to him, taking him by the shoulders.

“Hey, Georgie! We gotta bring you home now,” he said in a false cheery tone, and tried to inch Georgie back in the direction of his house, but the boy wouldn’t move.

“My boat!” he whined.

“S’Okay, Bill can make you a new one. But we really got to get home.”

“No, he’ll kill me! That’s the one he made for me!”

Richie groaned and turned to Eddie for help. The kid was clearly stubborn, but there was no way he could get his paper boat back without losing an arm in the process. Eddie looked like he was contemplating what to argue to get him to go home (possibly along the lines of ‘You’ll get sick and die’), but before he could say anything, they heard another voice.

“Georgie, you want your boat back?”

The three boys turned in the direction of the gutter, and once again, Richie saw those glowing yellow eyes, and Eddie looked terrified once more. Georgie looked apprehensive but took a step forward anyway. _Oh no, I’m_ not _witnessing that again_ , Richie thought, and without a moment’s hesitation, he began to rewind once more.

He only rewound for a few seconds this time, and once he stopped, he turned to Eddie.

“A paper boat’s gonna zoom past any second, so catch it before it falls into the gutter,” he instructed.

Before Eddie could question him, Richie took off running, taking the boat’s path in reverse. He soon bumped into Georgie, who fell onto the ground with a splash. He looked startled for a second, but when he saw it was Richie he bumped into, he smiled.

“Richie? What’re you doing out here?” he asked.

“I ought’a ask you the same question, kid! Your mom called my mom. She’s pretty worried about you out here, so I gotta take you home now.”

“But my boat is right up—”

Before Georgie could finish, Eddie strolled up toward the two boys, holding up the paper boat. It was still holding up well in this weather thanks to the wax it was smothered in, and had “S.S. Georgie” written in careful letters along the edge. The young boy reached for it, prompting Eddie to kneel down and hand it to him.

“Why does mom want me to come home? I only _just_ started sailing my boat,” he mumbled, but walked defeatedly alongside Richie and Eddie regardless.

Eddie responded to his complaint by explaining that nobody should be out here in this weather, and began to list off all the various illnesses that could be contracted from playing out in the rain. That was enough to convince Georgie to go home, as Eddie’s discussions of illness tended to be overdramatic and a little scary.

Richie was only half-listening. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, knowing that once again, he had used his powers for good. Not only had he saved Georgie from a horrible fate, he had also alleviated a weight from Bill’s shoulders. If Georgie had died, it would have haunted Bill to the point where he would spend following summer completely obsessing over finding out the truth of Georgie’s disappearance.

“Do you really think you can change anything, Richie?” a voice murmured from behind him.

Frantically, Richie turned back over his shoulder, his heart thudding. There was nothing behind him, but he recognized the voice—it had been the same one that coaxed Georgie in the gutter a moment ago. He stood there, trying to process the voice’s words, when the rain suddenly became much heavier. He looked up, and through his blurry vision, he was able to make out that the clouds had become much darker. The rapid stream of water descending into the gutter suddenly became much more aggressive, and roared under their feet.

 _This can’t be… Is this the storm I saw during that blackout earlier?_ Richie gazed at the rapidly pouring rain, but then brushed the thought away. He knew that the storm he had seen in his vision had been even worse than this. Although he wasn’t as scared as he had felt in that vision, he still felt dread pile up inside him.

“Oh god, we have to get out of here, this is bad!” Eddie exclaimed, his casual stroll becoming a run.

Richie followed him, keeping a close eye on Georgie. His attention was drawn away the following moment, however, when there was suddenly a loud boom. This was accompanied by a flash in the sky. A long string of lightning descending from the sky, and landed on a house in the distance. The house that was hit sent wooden planks and shingles from the roof flying in every direction.

The sudden lightning strike caused Eddie to let out a cry. He jumped back and clung tightly onto Richie’s arm, staring at the smoldering house in the distance. He trembled with fear, and remained frozen there, until Georgie snapped both of them out of their trances.

“Was that my house?! That was my street! _That was my street!_ ” he screamed and sprinted towards the wreckage.

“Hey, Georgie, wait up!” Richie shouted, taking off after him. Eddie followed, his eyes wide.

“He was right. That _was_ from Bill’s street. You don’t think it was…?”

Richie shook his head, but somewhere in his heart, he knew. It only made sense that it was Bill’s house that had been hit by the lightning strike. Whatever that thing in the sewers was, it was punishing him for snatching Georgie away. There had been no lightning strike when Georgie had died, but now that he had survived, something drastic had changed.

As they rounded the corner and approached the house, Richie’s heart fell. Several of the neighbours were now standing on their front porches, horrified at the sight of the destroyed house. When one neighbour saw the youngest Denbrough run down the street, she quickly reached out for him.

“Georgie, don’t you want to come inside with me for a while? You shouldn’t…” she urged, but the child didn’t listen. He kept on running.

The neighbour’s gentle coaxing was all it took for Richie to have his suspicions confirmed. The destroyed house they were approaching was Bill’s. It was now nothing more than a pile of rubble, as the lightning strike caused it to collapse immediately. Amongst the rubble, they were able to make out a destroyed piano, a blanket with circus animals stitched on, and a fridge, its door barely hanging on by a screw.

There was silence. Then, Georgie let out a heart-stopping scream, backing away. Eddie caught him, ready to comfort him. However, before he could, he spotted what had caused the boy to start screaming. He let out a few small wheezing gasps before reaching into his pocket, grabbing his inhaler and blasting.

“Richie… I... I…” Eddie stammered, pointing. Then, Richie saw it.

It was a bloody hand, too small to belong to Zach or Sharon Denbrough. His eyes followed the hand up to the wrist, but that was all he could see. The hand had been severed from the rest of Bill’s body, which was probably buried somewhere deep in the rubble. Richie felt a wave of nausea overtake him, thus causing him to hold his hands over his mouth.

 _“Mom! Dad! Bill!”_ Georgie screamed, running forward once more.

“Georgie, you can’t! They’re—” Eddie began, but realized he didn’t want to finish his sentence. His eyes began to well up with tears, and he turned to Richie. “Bill can’t be…”

Richie couldn’t find any possible response. His legs felt incredibly weak, and he gave into the urge to collapse to the ground, still feeling nauseous. He knew the dilemma he had been presented here—he couldn’t save everyone.

He knew that if he didn’t interfere with Georgie meeting that thing in the sewers, the young boy would die, but the rest of his family would live. However, thanks to the wrath of the thing in the sewers, if he _did_ interfere with the meeting, Bill and his parents would die. After this October, there was no possible way for all four Denbroughs to survive.

Looking at Georgie, who was sobbing, he knew right away that the pain he was experiencing was something no six-year-old should ever have to experience. How long would he live like this? Would he ever fully recover from that trauma?

Richie knew a sacrifice had to be made—he had to choose between one life or three lives. _That’s not the main reason though, huh?_ He knew a major deciding factor here was the fact that he would possibly have to sacrifice _Bill’s_ life. He couldn’t do that. As much as he adored Georgie, Bill was one of his best friends, and he would save Bill over any of the other three Denbroughs.

 _I don’t want to do this. Georgie deserves to live too, but… but I can’t sacrifice someone important to me._ Richie trembled, walking forward. He turned Georgie around, looking at his tear-stained face. The look in his eyes was heartbreaking, which made Richie’s next action much easier. He pulled the boy into a tight hug, his hands numbing at the sensation of touching the cold rain on the yellow slicker. Georgie immediately returned the hug, crying harder than he had before.

Nearby, Eddie could no longer hold back the tears. He wiped roughly at his eyes, but he still couldn’t stop himself. He took a step forward, ready to comfort Georgie too. When Richie heard Eddie crying behind him, he turned around, his heart hurting. He hated having to put Eddie through witnessing one of his best friends dying. _I’m sorry, Eds. I should’ve just let you stay home. This was a mistake._

“Georgie, I’m so sorry,” Richie whispered, “I’m so sorry.”

Then, he let the boy go, staring at him for one more moment. Then, taking a deep, shuddering breath, he held his palm out, and began to rewind. The house repaired itself. The rain became lighter. He kept going, until he saw Georgie running backward down the street, and back into his house. There was a light on in Bill’s room, where he was working on the boat that would send Georgie to his death.

He gazed up at the house, a sinking feeling in his chest. Then, not wanting to stay for a second longer, he closed his eyes, extended his palm, and focused his energy once more. He pictured the sun. He pictured the houses surrounding him, their recently cut lawns releasing a fresh odor. He pictured Eddie, sitting right beside him.

Opening his eyes, he saw that he was back in the following summer. Eddie was staring at him intently, his eyes wide with curiosity.

“So, are you going back?” he asked.

That simple question was all the confirmation Richie needed that Georgie was still dead. The guilt he felt was paramount. _I let Georgie die. That’s my burden to bear now._ Feeling a crippling pain in his chest, he let out a cry and buried his head in his hands. Eddie flinched, and reached over.

“What’s the matter?! Are you hurt?!” he cried.

“I’m fucking _fine!_ Except I… I can’t save anyone. If Georgie lives, the rest of his family dies, so I had to let him die! I couldn’t change anything! _I can’t save anyone!_ These stupid fucking powers are _wasted_ on me!” he shouted, and then felt tears prick his eyes.

He buried his face further into his hands, not wanting to look so weak. Eddie stared at him, not fully understanding what had happened. All he knew was that Richie was hurting right now, and he did the only thing he could do. He reached over and wrapped his arms tightly around him.

“That’s not true. You saved me, remember? And that’s something big. You can’t beat yourself up if something goes wrong. This is time we’re talking about here. Some things just… can’t be changed for the better. You wanted to help, and you tried to do something incredible. Don’t let yourself forget that,” Eddie murmured.

Richie sat there, trembling. He appreciated Eddie’s words of comfort, but still couldn’t shake off the guilt he felt. He didn’t say anything in reply, and just let Eddie keep holding him, feeling brief comfort in the sensation.


	4. Poem

 

The following day, Richie was still reeling from what he had experienced. He was slowly coming to accept that there were some things in the past that couldn’t be changed without disastrous consequences, and Georgie’s death was one of those examples. He didn’t know why nothing bad happened after Eddie’s death, however. It began to feel as if these powers came with a major risk factor, and that every chance he took to change the past would be a risk.

Staring at the ceiling of his bedroom, he groaned. He wished, more than anything, that someone else had received these powers. Anyone else in his little group would know how to handle time travel, and probably had some better use for it. What could he do with it? He just wanted to make people laugh, not to try and change the world.

As he continued to contemplate the mystery surrounding his powers, he barely registered the soft knock at his bedroom door. When the knock was louder this time, he sat upright, shaken out of his thoughts. He called for whoever it was to come in, and his mother opened the door.

“Eddie’s outside. He’s wondering if you want to go down to the Barrens,” she told him.

Richie frowned at the mention of Eddie. Of course, he would be happy to see his friend, but he was also embarrassed over yesterday. He hated looking so weak and vulnerable in front of his friends, and he didn’t want Eddie to treat him any differently because of the way he acted. A part of him refused to admit that he had liked that Eddie had comforted him, and that it had made him feel less alone in the predicament he was facing.

Stretching, he got up, told his mom he’d be back later, and strolled out the bedroom door. As his mom told him to be careful out there, he nonchalantly told her he would be. Approaching the front door, he grinned upon seeing Eddie, and bounded to his side, pinching his cheek.

“Don’t _do_ that!” Eddie snapped, pulling himself away.

“I can’t help myself when I see you, Eds, you’re just too cute!” Richie replied, knowing that he was laying it on a bit thick. _Whatever. Anything to move past what happened yesterday._

Eddie scowled at him, deciding not to humor him with another reply. Instead, they started to walk in the direction of the Barrens. The area had become a sanctuary for the Losers over the past few weeks. Richie had yet to see the others, aside from Eddie and Bill, since he had discovered his powers. It felt like it had been much longer since he had seen them, possibly due to his recent venture back to the previous October. 

He was certainly looking forward to seeing them again—seeing them would shed some normality back into his life. He knew their meetup would only go one of two ways that day; everything would proceed as normal, or he would have to explain what had been happening. He hoped desperately for the former. After witnessing Eddie die, and intentionally letting Georgie meet a horrible fate in order to save Bill, Richie felt more emotionally exhausted than he had ever felt before.

“Are you thinking about yesterday?” Eddie asked.

Richie turned to face him. His expression was softer now, and he reached over to touch his arm in a light comforting gesture. This sudden show of support caused Richie to feel embarrassed, and he turned away. He knew he must have shown what he was feeling, due to how quickly Eddie switched from annoyance to concern. Maybe he didn’t need to show it on his face, though—being quiet for too long always concerned the people around him.

The previous day, after he had finally gained the courage to discuss what happened, Eddie listened in stunned silence. After seeing how upset Richie was, he had continued to comfort him, making sure that he knew that there was no right or wrong choice here. Both choices had come with unthinkable sacrifices. That was slowly starting to sink in for Richie, but now he had a new concern.

“Are you thinking about what you’re going to tell Bill?”

Eddie had read his mind. Richie had no idea how he was going to tell Bill that he _had_ managed to save Georgie but had to undo it due to the fact that it would result in the rest of his family dying. He doubted Bill would be as understanding as Eddie.

“A little. I’m not sure I’m going to tell him about the whole reversal thing though, ‘cause I’m pretty sure he’ll freak and told me I made the wrong choice,” Richie said, frowning.

“He should know that you tried—”

“You know Bill! He’s going to give me shit about it. He wants to find and save Georgie so bad. If he knows I saved him and then undid it, he’d yell at me. And I’m sick of thinking about whether or not I did the right thing.”

Eddie stared at the ground as he walked, scared by Richie’s own guilty, terrified attitude. Usually, he was the one who kept the atmosphere light, so to see him like this drove home how much of an emotional toll this had been. 

“Okay. Do what you think’s best. And remember that no matter what, I’m on your side,” he said quietly.

Richie gave him a small smile then, feeling a little more comforted. While he had been experiencing all kinds of negative emotions, he found that his powers were less terrifying to deal with. He wasn’t alone in his struggle—no matter what would happen, he knew Eddie would be there to support him every step of the way, which helped quite a lot. 

When they approached the Barrens, they began to walk carefully down the slope. Eddie kept his hand in his pocket, tightly gripping his inhaler. The slight feeling of vertigo always caused his airways to close up, so he always remained cautious. 

Richie, who was a little ahead of him, looked back and saw how cautiously he was walking. He reached over and grabbed his hand, helping him to move at a quicker pace while staying safe. Eddie couldn’t quite meet his gaze, but was grateful, if a little embarrassed, for the help. 

As they came closer to their hangout spot, they saw that someone else had already gotten there first. It didn’t take them long to realize it was Bill, who was absentmindedly poking rocks in the small stream. Richie turned to Eddie, once again looking scared. Eddie gave his hand a small squeeze before he let go, in reassurance that he wasn’t alone. 

Upon hearing their footsteps, Bill turned around, his eyes lighting up with interest as soon as he saw Richie. He threw the stick back in the river and jogged over, staring at his friend expectantly. 

“Whuh-Whuh-When are you g-g-g-going to g-g-g-go buh-buh-back?” he asked, his voice full of urgency.

“Hello to you too, my dear friend, my day’s going just fine, thanks for asking!” Richie replied sarcastically but couldn’t keep the tremble out of his voice.

Bill knew immediately that Richie was hiding something. Richie stopped smiling when he saw how Bill was staring at him, knowing he was hiding something. Eddie bit his lip and stood up straight next to Richie, feeling scared for him.

“Fine. I… well, I already went back,” Richie confessed. 

 _“Whuh-Whuh-Whuh-What?_ Then where’s Juh-Juh-Juh-Georgie?” Bill asked. 

Taking in a deep breath, Richie gazed at the ground. Even though he didn’t take much notice of what he was doing, he thrust his hand into his pocket, and held the coin that Eddie gave him between his thumb and forefinger. He turned it over and over in his pocket as he mulled over what he could possibly say.

 _Okay, so… I could lie to Bill right now. Make it seem like I never saw Georgie. But that would mean hiding the truth from one of my best friends, and not only that, it’s the truth about something he_ really _cares about. But on the other hand… If I tell him I let Georgie die, he’d never forgive me, and I don’t know if I could deal with that. Also, if he knew Georgie was really dead, it could destroy him._

_Jesus Christ, what the hell do I do?_

Closing his eyes, he flipped the coin over and over again, knowing there were only two ways this could play out. Bill snapped his name and he looked up, afraid. Finally, he settled the coin on one side in his pocket and stared up at Bill.

“When I went back, I went straight to Witcham, where he was supposed to be, and waited _forever._ He never showed,” he lied, feeling a horrible gnawing feeling in his stomach. 

Eddie looked at him with slightly widened eyes, but quickly realized what Richie was doing. He looked back at Bill with a neutral expression.

“That m-m-m-makes no suh-suh-suh-sense. Somebody suh-suh- _saw_ him there,” Bill said, trying to keep his tone calm. “Whuh-Whuh-Why didn’t y-y-y-you check a-a-around Duh-Duh-Derry?”

“Hey! You know how bad the storm was that day. Did you expect him to walk all around Derry until he caught a cold so bad that he died?! That could’ve happened, you know!” Eddie snapped, furious at Bill’s lack of concern for his friend.

Bill looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling guilty. He didn’t intentionally put aside his concern for Richie’s health, but his mind was so wrapped up in what happened to Georgie that he was frustrated at not having gotten an answer. As he looked down, Richie mouthed thanks at Eddie. Shrugging, Eddie mouthed back, ‘It’s true.’ 

“I-I-I’m suh-suh-suh-suh-sorry. Thanks f-f-for trying. I… I-I just want to know s-s-s-so bad,” Bill murmured. Richie frowned, wanting to tell the truth. 

“We’re going to keep looking, Bill. But no matter what, I’m sure he isn’t angry at you,” he replied in a weak way of comforting him.

Bill hugged himself and shook his head. Richie and Eddie exchanged a look. They knew how much Bill had blamed himself for Georgie’s disappearance. They knew, in that moment, if he had found out what really happened to Georgie, it would break him. Wanting to show him comfort, Richie took a hesitant step forward, reaching an arm out, unsure of what to do for a minute.

“Woah, guys. Things seem pretty tense here.”

They all froze and looked in the direction of the voice. They saw Beverly standing there, looking at them with concern. Mere steps behind her were Stan and Ben, who happened to be holding his new radio. Richie had been eagerly awaiting the moment that he would see the other losers again, hoping for things to return to some kind of normality. But in an instant, they had been dragged into this tense atmosphere that had formed over the past few days. 

After the silence stretched between them, he sauntered over to Beverly, and threw an arm around her shoulder, giving her a serious look. She frowned, becoming more concerned.

“You see, me and Bill were fighting over which one of us you love,” he said with a dramatic sigh.

At that, Stan and Bill rolled their eyes. Beverly’s serious expression was replaced by one of amusement. She smirked and wrinkled her nose, causing her freckles to bunch up. Then, she wrapped an arm around his waist, giving Bill a sympathetic look.

“Sorry, Bill, you know who my heart belongs to,” she said, and tapped the right lens of Richie’s glasses. “Who can resist those _giant_ eyes?”

“Hey, hey! You know my eyes aren’t really that big!” he cried, suddenly offended.

Beverly cracked up, and Richie’s face turned a little red, embarrassed by being caught up in one of her comments. Glancing around him, he saw that Bill was still looking tense, not ready to move on from their previous discussion. Ben was gazing at Beverly with a smile on his face, finding her laugh adorable. When Richie glanced at Eddie, he looked elsewhere, his expression unreadable. As for Stan, he looked like he was in contemplation.

“What’cha thinking about, Stan?” Richie asked.

“Beverly’s right. You guys _were_ tense before we got here. Is there something you’re hiding from us?” he countered.

He frowned, taking his arm off Beverly’s shoulders. Looking at Eddie for guidance, he simply shrugged once more. Before he could think of how to reply, Bill spoke up for him.

“Cuh-Cuh-Cuh-Come on, Richie. They h-h-h-have a r-r-r-right to know,” Bill said sternly.

Ben, Beverly, and Stan looked at Richie for an explanation. _So much for keeping things normal,_ he thought, not meeting any of their gazes. Somewhere in his mind, he knew that things had never been exactly normal to begin with. It felt like they had been pulled together under abnormal circumstances, even if they did just act like a normal group of friends. Around them, he thought more and more often about his encounter with the Paul Bunyan statue. There was also what Eddie had mentioned when he saw that thing in the sewers—something about a leper. _Why do I feel like those things are connected?_

He brushed away the thought. That was a question for another day. For now, he had to officially destroy any chances of having a normal day. He slumped down into the grass, and the others sat down, forming a circle. 

“Okay, you guys are definitely not gonna believe this, but just listen.”

* * *

 

After Richie explained everything once more, with alterations to his story of traveling back to the previous October, the Losers sat there in silence for a while. Normally, they would respond by brushing off any wild stories he told them, claiming he was making it up, but given the level of detail, as well as backup claims from Eddie, they couldn’t deny it.

“So, you guys going to say anything or what?” he asked, a little irritated.

“I know this sounds weird, but… I believe you. That’s not the weirdest thing that I’ve heard about this summer, so… yeah. I can get behind that,” Ben told him. 

Beverly nodded in agreement. The others looked on curiously, wondering what weird things Ben was thinking about. Bill looked particularly interested, especially since his story about the bleeding photo album had been mentioned in Richie’s story. Slowly, he was coming to the realization that something odd outside of time travel was going on. _I had Paul Bunyan, Bill had the photo album, Eddie mentioned some leper, and now Ben’s acting weird. Something’s definitely picking on us as a group._

For some reason, he thought of the thing he had caught a brief glimpse of in the gutter. He shuddered, feeling that there was somehow a strong connection between all these encounters, including Georgie’s. _Okay, so trying to deal with time travel_ and _some weird demon thing in Derry is not how I wanted to spend my summer._

“It doesn’t make sense. People can’t mess with time. There would definitely be some sort of paradox,” Stan suddenly spoke.

That snapped Richie out of his thoughts. Stan looked frustrated, staring down at his knees. There was something in his voice, though, that made Richie believe he was uncertain. Eddie looked like he was about to argue against him, but Richie held up a hand to stop him. He grinned devilishly. _Okay, I know how to convince him._

The others looked on in confusion as he held out his palm. Before they could say anything, he rewound, but only by a few seconds.

“It doesn’t make sense. People can’t mess with time. There would definitely be some sort of paradox,” Stan and Richie said in unison. Richie’s voice was a poor imitation of Stan’s, but it was still mocking enough to make him look over in confusion. 

“Very funny, Richie.” 

From that point, Richie would let the conversation proceed sentence by sentence, rewinding each time he listened to something new Stan said. Once he had rewound about eight times, he was certain of every word that’d come out of Stan’s mouth. He repeated his first two lines, watching as Stan became pale.

“Okay, that could just be a coincidence,” they said in unison, Richie looking at him smugly.

“You can’t predict _every_ word I’m going to say.” 

Ben, Beverly, and Bill looked on in amazement, stunned to see the effects of Richie’s time traveling in action for the first time. Eddie held a hand in front of his mouth, hiding his growing smirk at Stan’s outrage.

“Richie, stop it, this isn’t funny!”

Stan crossed his arms, glaring at him. As Richie said the same words at the exact same time, he resisted the urge to start laughing.

“So this is how you’re going to prove you can time travel? _Really?_ I shouldn’t have expected anything less from you,” they both huffed, but at this point, Richie was struggling to say it through his laughter, which he couldn’t hold back anymore. 

Stan glared at him and then made a dramatic show of zipping his finger across his lips, to indicate he wouldn’t talk any longer. Richie grinned at him, feeling victorious. 

“So, you believe me now?” he asked. 

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yes, I believe you. And I really wish you proved it in a less annoying way,” he sighed. 

“Come on, Stan, it was pretty funny,” Beverly said. 

Stan shook his head, but there was a small smile forming on his lips. Yes, he found Richie annoying at times, but at the same time, he was relieved to see that having such mysterious powers apparently wasn’t taking an emotional toll on him. He knew that if _he_ was the one with time traveling powers, it would freak him out beyond any measure. 

While Richie was still terrified, he felt himself relaxing a bit more now. He had successfully managed to show the Losers what he was capable of, and it didn’t require any emotionally challenging tasks. Even Bill looked a bit brighter now. He wasn’t enjoying it as much as Beverly, Eddie, and Ben did, but he no longer looked as miserable as before.

When he glanced over at Eddie, he smiled, happy to have entertained him. He leaned over to ask if he should do another impression of one of the others, but when he leant over, Eddie suddenly frowned. He furrowed his brows, confused by Eddie’s sudden change. 

Then, he felt a warm liquid dripping under his nose. That caused Eddie to turn pale. Curiously, Richie touched the liquid, and pulled his finger away, seeing that it was blood. 

“Oh my god, are you okay?” Beverly asked, concerned as well, as she leant over.

“Huh? Yeah, it’s just a nosebleed,” he replied nonchalantly, but then he noticed how lightheaded he was feeling.

 “I-I-It looks really buh-buh-buh-bad,” Bill said, trying to lean over as well.

He held the side of his head, which wasn’t comforting to Eddie at all. He put a finger under Richie’s chin and tilted his head back to help prevent the bleeding. With his other hand, he rummaged through his pocket.

“I don’t have any tissues,” Eddie groaned.

“I think I’m dying,” Richie replied in a monotonous voice.

“Don’t even joke about that! I’m tempted to take you to the pharmacy for a consultation with Mr. Keene, and if you really do feel bad—”

“Jeez, Eds, kidding, kidding!”

“Well, it wasn’t funny!”

The other Losers began to calm down once they saw that the two boys were back to their usual bickering, which indicated that Richie’s nosebleed wasn’t impairing his ability to tease Eddie. Listening to them bicker for a few more seconds, Ben decided to step forward, clearing his throat. 

“Uh, I have some tissues,” he said quietly. “My bags over by one of those trees.”

That caused Richie and Eddie to shut up. Eddie stood up, and Richie followed. Ben walked them over, but in the distance, Richie could hear there was a change in the way that the remaining Losers spoke, no longer so casual. 

“What do you think those powers _mean?”_ he heard Beverly ask. 

“I don’t know, but it’s not normal, and he needs to be careful—” Stan’s voice trailed off as they moved further. 

Richie frowned. Were they just pretending to take this news casually to make things easy on him? He supposed that was fair of them to do, considering that if they had freaked out, it would have only made him more scared.

“Here, use as many as you need. And you should probably lie down for a minute. You look pretty pale,” Ben instructed, handing them a packet of tissues.

“Thanks, Ben. You’ve really helped us out here. His mom would’ve had a bird if he came home with blood smeared all over his face,” Eddie thanked him.

Ben smiled at him. His eyes trailed down back to his bag and murmured an inaudible response. Eddie then concentrated on getting Richie to lie down, which he took as an opportunity to act as dramatic as possible, fanning himself and crying out about how sensitive and delicate he was. Eddie rolled his eyes, but gently dabbed at the blood, relieved to see that it was no longer gushing out.

Despite his theatrics, Richie wasn’t particularly focused on Eddie. His eyes were watching Ben. He watched as his friend took a postcard out of his bag and placed it into a pink rucksack beside his. Richie knew that it was Beverly’s, and his curiosity was piqued. After Ben placed the postcard in, though, Richie quickly looked away. Ben quickly scurried off to join the rest of the Losers. 

“Y’know, Richie, in other circumstances, I’d take you straight to Mr. Keene. But… I think that nosebleed was to do with your time travel. How many times did you rewind time to pull that stunt with Stan?” Eddie asked. 

“Erm… I dunno. Like, eight times or something? I wasn’t counting, just rewinding.”

 _“Eight?!_ That has to have side-effects, especially if you did that all in the space of a couple of seconds. Promise me you’ll take it easy on the time traveling from now on. It could have some kind of damage on your physical health, and I don’t want you to—”

“Okay, yup, all good, I’ll stop rewinding so often,” Richie said, distracted. “Did you see Ben put something in Beverly’s backpack?”

Eddie looked at him curiously, and then was about to protest when he sat up. He resigned to the fact there was no stopping him when he approached Beverly’s backpack, and pulled out the postcard.

“Your hair is winter fire, January embers, my heart burns there too? Your secret admirer? Oh my god, Eds, Ben’s in _love!”_ he cried, and Eddie rolled his eyes.

He frowned then. _Okay, we already have a writer here, and it isn’t Ben. When Bev sees this, she’s not going to think Ben sent this. Didn’t really think this through, buddy,_ he thought, shaking his head at Ben’s rashness. Beverly would naturally reach the conclusion that Bill wrote her a poem. There were already clear signs that both Bill and Ben were pining after her, but after reading this poem, Richie found himself thinking that Beverly deserved to know just how deep his feelings were. 

For a fleeting moment, he thought of whether or not he could ever lay his feelings out that openly. Anytime that he felt a pang in his heart, he tended to ignore it. The past few days had shown him exactly why he did that—he didn’t like to confront his feelings. But, he knew somewhere deep down, that he had been ignoring feelings budding inside of him for quite some time. Gazing over at Eddie, he finally spoke. 

“Hey, do you have a pen?” he asked. Eddie squinted at him.

“What’re you planning?”

“Nothing bad, promise! But, c’mon. If you got a super romantic poem and you knew it was from one of us, who would you think sent it? Bill, ‘cause he’s a writer, right?”

“I guess, but… we shouldn’t interfere, should we?”

“I think Bev would like to know who _actually_ sent this. Please? Do it for love! Do it for marriage! Do it for a baby in a—”

Eddie quickly reached into his pocket and thrust a pen in his direction.

“Okay, okay! Just _please_ stop talking,” he begged.

Richie took the cap off the pen and reached into Beverly’s bag. The postcard sat neatly on top, probably so she wouldn’t miss it. Carefully, he put a comma after ‘Your secret admirer’, but when he only began to write Ben’s name, he heard a panicked voice from a distance.

“Hey, what’re you doing?!” Ben cried, and Richie heard him begin to run over. 

 _Okay, shit, got to think this through._ He held up his palm, and Eddie looked panicked.

“What did I just say about taking it easy on time traveling?!” 

Before he could give Eddie a response, he began to rewind, only a few seconds into the past, but it was still enough to cause that lightheaded feeling to return once he stopped rewinding. He ignored the dizzy sensation and turned to Eddie.

“Can you go and distract Ben?” he whispered. 

“How?” Eddie asked, and Richie was relieved that he was automatically on board.

“I don’t know. Go over and tell him about the latest disease your mom’s freaking out about,” he told him.

Eddie nodded, and strolled over to the main group, not able to make out what he was saying, only that he was talking quickly, which he always did when describing diseases his mother talked to him about.

Concentrating, Richie carefully copied Ben’s handwriting, and let out a sigh of relief when he was able to write out his full name with no interruptions. He placed the postcard gently back into Beverly’s backpack. He briefly thought about how he hoped things would work out for them and was even a little envious of how easily and beautifully Ben could express his feelings. He shook that thought off, and began to make his way back to the group.

“Hey, you guys wanna go get ice cream? I need a sugar boost after nearly dying, and all that,” Richie suggested.

“I-I-I wuh-wuh-was just g-g-g-going to tuh-tuh-tell them a-a-a-about the ah-ah-ah-ah-album—” Bill began.

“We can talk about that later, right? I think all of us have a lot to discuss. But know that you’re not the only one who's been having weird experiences, Bill,” Beverly said.

Bill bit his lip, looking like he had more to say, but nodded and stood up. Stan mentioned getting their bags before leaving, and along with Beverly and Ben, they went to retrieve them. As Richie passed them, he looked down at Beverly, who had paused by her bag. She was holding the postcard, reading its contents. It looked as if she were hunched over, as if to hide the fact that she was reading.

Once she reached the end of the postcard, she stuffed it back in her bag, and began to walk up the slope along with the rest of the group. She was blushing, and there was a hint of a smile on her lips. She looked at Ben from behind, her eyebrows slightly raised. Clearly, she wasn’t expecting a poem like that from him. He was chatting to Bill, blissfully unaware that his crush was now aware of his feelings.

She tapped him on the shoulder, and when he turned around and saw her, he looked like he had just received an electric shock. Richie watched the scene cautiously, worried that Beverly would let it slip that he had apparently signed his name on the poem. Luckily, that didn’t happen. 

“Hey, do you want to walk home together later?” she said.

“Why?” Ben immediately replied, and winced at his words. Beverly raised an eyebrow, still smiling, confused by his reply.

“That’s a yes! Right, Ben?” Richie called over.

Ben rapidly nodded, and Beverly seemed happy at that. Richie wondered if she would be upfront and bring up the poem on the walk home. Whether or not she did, he was certain that simply signing Ben’s name had led to an avoidance of a major misinterpretation of the poem’s author.

“Richie, are you sure you should’ve written Ben’s name? That was kind of an invasion of privacy, and I mean… look, I don’t want to worry you or anything, but the last time you interfered with time, something really bad happened, remember?” Eddie whispered. “I don’t want you feeling that guilty again.”

“Pshhht, Ben would’ve never said anything to her and just stared at her forever. I helped! And nothing’s going to happen ‘cause of that. I technically didn’t change anything that happened in the past. So, everything’s good, right?” Richie argued.

Eddie nodded, though still apprehensive. He was about to say something to counter Richie’s point, when there was sudden shouting. Bill looked back concernedly at his friends, and they ran in the direction of the shouting to hear it better.

“Look. I’ve had a bad fucking week with a bunch of little shits from my school. I just want to vent a little, okay?” Henry’s voice echoed from a distance.

Eddie tensed up and began to tremble. Richie understood why; this was the first time he had been around Henry since their own encounter, and after what Richie told him had originally happened, it was only natural that Eddie was having a bad reaction. Richie reached over and draped his arm around his shoulder, giving it a small apt. Eddie took in a shaky breath, staring ahead. 

“Who’s he picking on now?” Stan pondered. 

“O-Okay. I’m here to listen to your problems if you want me to listen, just please give me back that book. It’s important to me,” another voice said.

The voice belonged to someone all the Losers vaguely knew; Mike Hanlon. They had often seen him around town, sometimes running errands for his parents, other times just exploring historic areas of the town. On those explorations, he always looked in his element, curious about what was buried in the town’s history. But now, he sounded terrified.

“Oh no, no. I’m not looking to _talk._ I want to make those fuckers pay for what they’ve put me through this week, but you’ll have to do as a substitute, huh?”

The six kids looked at each other. Every one of them looked terrified. Although it was the last thing they wanted to do, they began to run in the direction of the conflict.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, I certainly didn't mean for this chapter to be so long! I'm sorry about taking so long to introduce the Losers, but obviously in the next chapter, we're finally going to get the whole group. Once again, I'd love to hear any feedback you have! Thank you for reading!


	5. Rock War

As the Losers ran to the source of the conflict, they could begin to make out Victor Criss’ and Belch Huggins’ voices. They were encouraging Henry’s actions, which were still unknown to the Losers. Stan shook his head at their raucousness and picked up the pace. 

However, as they came closer, they were alarmed to hear a change in the tone of Henry’s friends. They suddenly sounded alarmed, and appeared to be discouraging him from whatever he was about to do. Mike let out a terrified cry.

“Hey, hey, you can’t do this again. The hell’s gotten into you?” Victor said.

“I didn’t ask for your input, did I? I know what I’m doing,” Henry snapped back.

The six kids looked at each other, confused. _Again?_ Clearly this was something Henry had done before, and if it was enough to strike fear into his goons, it couldn’t have been anything good. They kept going, until they found a clearing that gave them view of what was happening.

From where they were standing, they could see that Mike had been tackled to the ground, and Belch was holding him in place. Henry had rolled up his shirt, and they could see that he was holding his switchblade against it. As he let out a scream of agony, the Losers winced, and stared at each other, unsure of what to do. Ben’s hand instinctively touched the scar that Henry had etched in his stomach. He had just managed to carve a ‘H’, but he knew that if he had his way, he was now going to carve his full name into Mike Hanlon’s stomach.

“What do we do? We can’t just let this happen,” Beverly hissed.

However, none of them could move. They each had their own individual unpleasant experiences with Henry and they all knew that if they got involved, it could have disastrous consequences. Each of them was thinking back on their experiences, but were snapped out of those memories every time Mike let out another cry.

“What can we do? He has a knife!” Stan whispered, staring out at the scene ahead with a pang of anguish.

Richie looked over at Eddie, who was staring fixatedly at the grass beneath him. Every time Mike cried out, he could hear Eddie’s breath getting shorter. His face was turning pale. Eventually, he pulled his inhaler out and pressed down, letting out a gasp. 

“You okay?” Richie asked.

“Yeah, it’s just… I keep remembering what you told me—” Eddie murmured before he was cut off.

“C’mon, Henry, that’s enough,” Belch said, and let go of Mike’s arms.

“Fine. At least I got my first name in,” Henry said defeatedly.

He held up his hand and stretched it, as if it were cramping up. Victor and Belch were already beginning to back away, clearly wanting to leave this behind them. Henry began to follow, but then paused. He walked back over to Mike and gave him a firm kick to the stomach. At this point, Mike was only able to let out a weak sound.

“If you see any of those other fucking losers I told you about, tell them they’re dead as shit the next time I catch them,” he growled, and then stormed off after his friends.

Mike let out a small whine, shakily bringing his hands to his bleeding stomach. From where they were crouched, the other kids could see that the ground below him was quickly turning red. The majority of the kids had turned pale, and for a moment, there was silence amongst them. 

“What the hell? Did we seriously just sit here and let that happen?!” Beverly snapped, glaring at the boys.

“I didn’t see you running over to stop them,” Stan hissed. 

“I wasn’t going over alone. There’s no way just one of us could have taken those guys on, right? We _all_ needed to stop them,” she explained, although sounding a little weaker in her resolve. 

“E-E-Enough. I-I-It’s tuh-tuh-tuh-too late n-n-n-n-now, but we c-c-c-can still check o-o-o-on him. To suh-suh-see if he’s o-o-okay,” Bill cut in.

Before the others could give any more input, he stood up and ran toward the injured boy. As he ran, Eddie listened closely to the crunch of the rocks under his feet. As an idea began to form in his mind, he looked over at Richie, who glanced back with furrowed brows, confused. Before he could explain, they heard Mike begin to speak. 

“Don’t… I… I don’t want to talk…” he wheezed. 

“Wuh-Wuh-We can h-h-h-help y-y-you,” Bill told him.

“How?! I… I can’t even move…” Mike replied, and judging by the crack of his voice, it sounded as if he were on the verge of tears.

Bill raised his head and looked over at his friends helplessly. They knew that the only way they could help Mike was by getting him medical attention. Each of them felt a heavy sense of guilt for just sitting there and let him suffer like that. They had each known what Henry was capable of, and they knew that facing Henry alone was any kid’s worst nightmare.

Eddie sighed, not liking the idea that was forming in his mind. However, seeing Mike so terrified, and knowing that his wound would be grave unless he got immediate medical attention, convinced Eddie that his idea needed to be acted on. 

“Richie… Look, you need to be careful with your powers, so don’t go back too far, but I think I have an idea,” Eddie said. 

“Huh?” Richie replied. He felt like he had just been shaken out of a trance, as he was fixated on the exchange between Bill and Mike.

“You heard Bill stepping on those rocks on the way over, right? Well… I mean, using rocks on Bowers worked last time, so…” Eddie trailed off, looking at Richie, hoping that he would understand what he meant. He was met with a grin.

A part of him was still a little terrified to go back. He knew that it meant another confrontation with Henry Bowers, who probably had a personal vendetta against him after the gravel throwing incident. But, seeing the pain Mike was in triumphed over any qualms he had. Once again, he thrust his hand into his pocket, turning the coin over and over, before turning to Eddie.

“That’s not a half bad idea, Eds!”

“Don’t call me that! You know I—” 

Eddie didn’t get a chance to finish his reprimanding. Richie held out his palm and begun rewinding. Once he reached the moment that Henry’s goons began to panic, he stopped. As soon as he heard them try to coax Henry out of hurting Mike, he saw that his friends were still simply staring on, fixated and terrified. There was no more time to waste, though. 

He got up, causing them all to stare up at him in confusion. When he began to stride over, he briefly heard a protest from Eddie. When he looked back, Eddie looked briefly angry, but then realization dawned over him. With that, he got up too and began to follow Richie. Beverly was quick to join, and as the three of them walked, the bullies hadn’t stopped in their actions yet, as they were completely engrossed in what was happening.

When they approached the rockier terrain, Richie reached down and picked up a rock. When Ben, Bill, and Stan saw this, they ran towards him, afraid of what he was about to do. Before they could reach him, however, he chucked it at Henry, where it hit him square on the shoulder.

“What is it with you and rocks? That your Bowers repellent?” Eddie asked.

“Hey, it was your idea,” Richie replied, and winked. Eddie looked confused at that, but quickly remembered that Richie had witnessed another set of events. Before he could say anything, though, the others caught up to them. 

“Are you insane?!” Stan cried out, looking in terror at Henry.

Before anyone else could reprimand him, Henry backed away from Mike, who quickly scurried further away from him. Henry looked in the direction of the rock thrower, briefly looking outraged, but when he saw who it was, he looked amused. 

“You have a death wish, Tozier?” he asked.

Richie didn’t respond, but instead strode until he was standing in front of Mike, who shakily rose to his feet. Eddie stood beside him, wringing his hands and avoiding the bullies’ glare. This was in direct contrast to Beverly, who stood tall and glared down at the three boys. Bill stood in front of his friends.

“G-G-G-G-Get out of huh-huh-here, Buh-Buh-Buh-Bowers,” he snapped.

“Okay, all you losers have been pissing me off lately. But if you just leave me alone with the little shit there,” Henry said, pointing at Mike, “I’ll let you all go for today. Even you, Tozier. We got a deal?” 

The seven kids didn’t even need to discuss it. Bill reached down, grabbed a rock, and threw it as hard as he could. Henry dodged, but it just managed to clip his arm. That sprung the rest of the group into action, reaching down and grabbing rocks, and then proceeding to throw them in the direction of the bullies. The other group were quick to retaliate, now grabbing rocks of their own.

Rocks were flung back and forth. Although they all did their best to dodge the incoming rocks, they all knew that when they got home that night, new bruises will have blossomed. At first, Mike was a little hesitant about joining in, but when he saw how much the six kids were fighting for his sake, he scooped up an armful of rocks and began throwing. Also, it was immensely satisfying to see that Henry was no longer looking so tough. 

Richie and Beverly were throwing at the highest speed with carelessness and recklessness. Even though a lot of their rocks missed, they continued pelting. Richie was beginning to lose himself in the motion. He had no qualms or hesitancy about pelting Henry with rocks, especially after what he had witnessed, first with Eddie, and now with Mike. If anything, this fight was a long time coming. 

However, his flow was interrupted when Eddie suddenly cried out. Looking over, Richie saw that he was holding one hand in front of his eyes, screaming. Squinting, Richie was sable to make out that there was a steady trickle of blood streaming underneath the hand. He immediately dropped all the rocks and approached Eddie, trying to get him to move his hand so he could assess the damage. In the meantime, Henry’s goons had taken the opportunity to throw more rocks in his direction, but he didn’t care.

Then, someone else cried out. He looked up and saw that Beverly had received a nasty hit too. There was a gaudy cut on her forehead, and she was blinking back tears in frustration. Ben stared at her with wide eyes for a second, and then grabbed more rocks and, with all his might, threw them at Henry.

 _Okay, shit. This is becoming a mess,_ Richie thought, looking between the now enraged Ben, teary-eyed Beverly, and Eddie, who was still screaming. He knew what he had to do.

Once again, he held his palm out, and rewound for a few seconds. When he stopped, he saw a few small, sharp rocks flying in Eddie’s direction. He leapt towards him, wrapped his arms tightly around his shoulders from behind, and swung him around, so that he was facing the opposite direction of the rocks. 

“Ben, incoming!” he shouted at the same time as he helped Eddie.

Ben looked around confusedly, but then saw the giant rock that was flying in Beverly’s direction. She was still completely immersed in rock throwing, not noticing the rock at all. Ben realized this too, grabbed Beverly’s arm, and pulled her closer to him. 

“I—um…” Ben stammered, not even knowing what to say. Beverly heard the rock that nearly hit her thud against the ground, and realized what had just happened.

“You don’t have to say anything. Thanks, Ben,” she said, and picked up another rock, chucking it at the bullies. He stood there frozen stiff for a moment, before retrieving a rock too.

As this happened, Richie felt a sudden lightness overtake his head. He had a sudden urge to just abandon this fight and lie down until he no longer felt so light-headed, but knew that wouldn’t be possible. Instead, he just rested his chin against Eddie’s shoulder.

He briefly forgot about the reason why he was holding Eddie in the first place, but remembered as soon as the sharp gravel hit his arm, tearing the sleeve of his shirt. He winced a little, and when he looked down, saw a small trickle of blood from a cut. Eddie looked down at the cut as well, and for a moment, looked as if he was going to take a break from the rock fight and make sure Richie was okay. 

But instead, he unleashed all hell.

Hopping down, he grabbed as many rocks as he could, and threw them at the bullies. Victor and Belch looked like they were losing their gusto, as they suddenly became wide eyed at the sight of the pint-sized ball of fury, who was now tossing as hard as he could. When one rock hit Victor square in the forehead, he began to back away. Belch followed suit when a sharp rock hit him on the leg, causing him to limp.

“Fuck this, these kids are gone nuts!” Belch cried out, and with that, the two goons began to run away from the scene. 

Henry wasn’t backing down, though. He glared, and threw a large rock, aiming for Eddie. Instead, it hit Stan in the chest, knocking him backwards. He let out a cry of pain, rubbed the spot where he was hit with a wince, and immediately looked helplessly at Richie, having figured out how he knew that Eddie and Beverly were going to be attacked earlier. Eddie caught the look too and shook his head at Richie before the boy could even consider rewinding. 

“You don’t look so good,” Eddie murmured. 

Richie knew he had a point. He wanted to help out all of his friends as much as he could, but they also knew what they were getting into when they started fighting against Henry and his gang. He was beginning to remember as well that his powers came with physical side effects, and although he would never worry about these side effects as much as Eddie would, he knew he shouldn’t abuse his powers too much.

Luckily, Bill focused on getting revenge for Stan. Standing by Eddie’s side, he picked up one rock, focused on it, and threw it with precision. It hit him on the nose. The kids froze when they heard a sickening crack. Henry let out a cry like a pained animal, and even from a distance, they were able to see the blood now gushing from his nose. 

At this point, he began to back away, realizing that he was harshly outnumbered since his friends abandoned him. The seven kids stood there defiantly, each still holding a rock, ready to throw again. But, he conceded defeat.

“I’m not done with you. I’ll kill you all, I fucking swear on it,” he growled.

“W-W-W-We’re duh-duh-duh-duh-done here, Buh-Buh-Bowers,” Bill told him, standing in front of his group like a protective guardian.

Henry didn’t say anything to that, but instead, pulled his knife out of his pocket, pointing it at each of them from a distance. Eddie’s face turned pale and he clutched onto Richie’s torn sleeve tightly. But, Henry made no movement on them and instead weakly limped after his friends, who were long gone from the rock war at this point.

Silence stretched out amongst the seven kids for a moment. Each of them had bruises and scratches, but they all had a sense of pride after finally beating Henry. Finally, Mike broke the silence.

“Thanks. You guys really helped me out there. But… why did you?” he asked, gazing at each of them.

Each of the other six looked at each other. They knew that on a surface level, the simple reason was that they wanted to stop an innocent kid from getting hurt. But on a deeper level, which they all secretly understood, they knew they couldn’t leave Mike behind. It was almost as if he was _meant_ to be a part of their small group, and if they left him to Henry, they would lose that opportunity.

“We saw him bullying you. We couldn’t let you go through that. He was going to do something awful to you, knowing Henry,” Stan muttered after a while, still clutching his chest.

Richie winced at that comment. _Man, you don’t know the half of it._ However, before anyone else could add on any more reasoning, Mike stepped toward Stan, looking at him with concern.

“Hey, that looks like it hurts. Are you okay?” he asked. 

Stan looked up at him, almost surprised by his concern. But then he smiled and shrugged it off, making some nonchalant comment about he was fine. When Mike nodded and turned away, Stan looked a little happier. Richie once again felt a pang of guilt that he didn’t go back in time to prevent him from getting hurt, but since he still felt nauseous, he figured he made the right call in terms of his health. 

“So, anybody still up for ice cream?” Beverly said in an attempt to change the subject.

Each of the losers, including Mike, shared a look that answered that question. Even Richie, whose appetite hadn’t fully come back after his rewinding stint, couldn’t say no to ice cream on a hot summer day. So, for the first time as a complete group, the seven kids strode into the main town, still bloodied and bruised. 

* * *

 “Oh my god.”

Mr. Peterson, who happened to be in the ice cream parlour that day, stared at the seven kids, his face paled. Ben, Stan, Mike, and Eddie looked away shyly, not wanting a teacher to get the impression that they were often involved in rough fights. Richie, Beverly, and Bill, though, looked triumphant. Mr. Peterson shook his head at them, putting his newspaper down. 

“What happened to you kids? You look like you’ve just been in a war!” he cried.

“We were, against Henry Bowers. That kid’s a monster, you know that?” Stan said.

Mr. Peterson sighed at that, groaning. Even though he was only responsible for Henry during summer school, it looked as if he were beginning to feel that he was completely responsible for Henry all the time now.

“I’m so sorry. I _tried_ talking to him about his behaviour, but who knows if he’ll ever change?” he mused, but then shook his head again. “Well, since you kids had a rough day, I’ll buy whatever ice cream you want. Just nothing too expensive, alright?”

That immediately caused the kids to brighten up. The teacher accompanied them to the top of the shop, where the cashier warmly greeted him by his first name, Robert. Even though the school administrative staff didn’t have much respect for him, the town residents had warmed to Mr. Peterson since he first arrived.

After much deliberating, the losers picked their flavours, and minutes later, they had gathered at a booth, excitedly recounting what had just happened to each other, told with exaggerated effects. Mr. Peterson stayed with them for a moment, but then after a small while, took his leave.

“You kids stay out of harm’s way now, alright? I’ll _try_ to make sure Henry stays out of your way, but I can’t make any guarantees on that,” he said, and then reached down to ruffle Stan’s hair as he left. “Take care, guys.”

The kids waved him off and then went back to chatting excitedly with one another. Richie paused, pointing out a hair in Eddie’s ice cream, which caused the other boy to lean in to examine. At the exact moment he leaned, Richie grabbed the back of his head and pushed the tip of his nose into the icy swirl. This led to a short-lived bickering session, with Beverly laughing at their antics. On the other side of the table, Ben was pushing Stan into describing the weirdest bird call he had ever heard, and while Stan was reluctant, he eventually demonstrated, his face turning bright red as he did so, worried that other customers would hear.

All in all, after the rock war, the losers had returned to their usual behaviour. The only difference now was that they had a new member, who was observing them all with amusement. Later that night, he would excitedly tell his father about his new friends, recounting all the little things that had happened that day.

The one thing he wouldn’t mention to his father, though, was the pensive look on Bill’s face, as he stared out the window. While Richie was still bickering with Eddie, he briefly faltered, staring at Bill, and then looking at his own shaking hands. For a fleeting moment, he looked like he was worried about something, but then seemed to snap out of it, proceeding to bicker with Eddie once more. 

Although Mike would only find out about Richie’s time powers and the losers’ strange encounters later, he knew in that instant what the matter was. There was something much bigger, something incomprehensible, happening. Something sinister was lurking in Derry and soon, they wouldn’t be able to avoid the thing preying on them.

For now, though, they had each other. Mike knew that no matter what was ahead, they would have each other’s support. In the peacefulness of the ice cream parlour, they all knew that they weren’t alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, I'm so sorry, that got so wrapped up with the original events of the novel! But I'm so glad I finally got to bring Mike into this!
> 
> I will be recounting a few more events with the inclusion of time powers, and even though they played a very minor role here, they will definitely be more significant later on. Keep tuned!


	6. Photo Album

After spending about an hour relaxing in the center of town, the kids decided to head back to the Barrens, after remembering that Ben left his radio down there. As they headed down, Bill knew that it would be the perfect opportunity to begin discussing what exactly was going on. So far, he had only told Richie about the photo album incident, but he knew that he had to confide in the rest of the group. 

They walked back the same route as before. Mike paused briefly in the area that the rock war had taken place. The others thought he was reflecting on what had happened, but instead he ran over to a nearby bush, and retrieved a black book from it. He brushed off the dirt and small twigs that clung to it.

“What’s that?” Beverly asked.

“My dad’s collection of photos from Derry’s history. When I saw Bowers, I knew he’d try to do something to it, so I hid it,” Mike explained, holding it with care. 

Upon hearing that it was a photo album, Bill tensed up, wondering if Mike had experienced anything similar with that album to what he had. He decided that questions on such experiences could wait until they reached the Barrens. 

They continued walking, each of them glancing from side to side occasionally, still a little paranoid that Henry had decided to come back for revenge. As they came closer to the Barrens, they relaxed, knowing at this stage that Henry wasn’t coming back, at least for today.

Ben let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that his radio was still in the same spot that he left it. He began to fiddle with it as the other Losers found somewhere to sit. Mike looked around the area curiously. He had been here a few times on his explorations of Derry, but he never spent much time hanging around the area. He had a feeling he’d be here a lot more now, as there was almost an unspoken agreement that he was a part of the group now. 

Bill hugged his knees to his chest and let out a deep sigh. He didn’t know how to begin explaining what he had seen to the others. He knew he’d just have to take the same approach he took when he told Richie: say it quickly and get it out there. He needed to know if they had been experiencing something similar. While he wasn’t sure if Richie had or not, his powers were enough to indicate that he was also wrapped up in the strange occurrences in Derry that summer.

Before Bill could start speaking, though, Ben got his radio up and running, which caught the Losers’ attention. There was just the sound of broken up voices for a second, but then it sprung to life, and a particularly popular, catchy song from the previous summer began to blare out.

 _Okay, it’s fine, it’s a bit of background noise. Maybe it’ll help the others relax when I tell them what happened,_ Bill thought. However, he immediately knew that he would have to delay on telling the others when he looked over at Richie, who was tapping his foot in time to the music, knowing it would only be mere seconds before he stood up. 

Richie didn’t know if he was experiencing a sugar rush from the ice cream, or if he was just giddy about the fact that his time traveling had resulted in something great—saving Mike from Henry’s wrath, and subsequently became a new member of the group. Or, maybe, he just really liked the song that was currently playing. No matter what the explanation was, he couldn’t sit still. He knew there would be heavy topics to discuss later, but he still wanted to enjoy some aspects of the summer.

“C’mon, Eds!” he said, jumping to his feet and pulling Eddie up with him, who looked both surprised and mortified.

“Richie, you know I can’t dance,” Eddie protested, but Richie shook his head.

“Just follow my lead!”

“That won’t really help, you can’t really dance either.”

Richie shrugged this off and begun to move his feet in time to the rhythm, keeping one hand on Eddie’s arm to guide him. Eddie was fixated on carefully following Richie’s steps, moving much slower and concentratedly than the other boy. 

As he did this, Richie briefly looked away and saw that Beverly was tapping her finger against her knee along to the beat. He saw that Ben was staring at her intently, also having picked up that she was enjoying the music too. Feeling Richie staring at him, Ben looked up at him. Richie nodded towards Beverly, causing Ben’s eyes to widen and he shook his head. It didn’t take much prompting, though, as Richie mouthed, ‘Do it’, at Ben, and he tapped Beverly on the shoulder.

“Want to… uh…” he stammered, but was unable to get the words out.

He quickly sat back down, embarrassed. Beverly giggled, amused by his attempt to ask, and grabbed his hand, pulling him up. His face was bright red, but he still couldn’t help but smile. He moved with small steps compared to Beverly’s, but the two still worked well in sync.

Richie looked on, amused, but his attention was quickly drawn back to Eddie when he let out a small cry. He realized then that he was standing on Eddie’s toes, and quickly moved his foot. Eddie stared up at him in amusement.

“Told you that following your lead wouldn’t work,” he teased.

Richie snorted and took his hand off Eddie’s arm. He held his palm flat and rewound, this time keeping his eyes on his feet. At the moment that Eddie put his foot forward, he moved his back, so that they were perfectly in sync. 

Feeling more confident, he moved forward at the exact moment Eddie did. They knocked their foreheads together, causing Beverly to briefly take her attention away from Ben and laugh at the two of them. Once again, Richie rewound, making sure to avoid any incidents.

He kept rewinding each time one of them took a wrong step or stumbled, and as the song approached its end, Eddie looked impressed. Richie grinned at him, and although the song wasn’t suitable for it, he lowered Eddie in a dramatic dip, more suitable for a ballroom dance. Eddie stared at him with wide eyes, his head only inches from the ground, but then he grinned back.

“Okay, you weren’t half-bad,” he admitted.

“See? I’m talented at everything, and you should never doubt—” Richie began to brag but was quickly cut off.

“You time traveled every time you messed up, didn’t you?” Eddie asked.

“…Maybe once or twice.”

“ _Richie!_ You know that time traveling has effects on your health!”

Eddie began to rant about the possible side effects of using those powers too much, causing Richie to roll his eyes. Ben and Beverly weren’t listening at all, as Beverly was too busy encouraging Ben to follow her steps, and luckily, he was slowly beginning to break out of his shell. Stan was watching both pairs, surprised by how in sync Richie and Eddie were. Mike raised an eyebrow at the scene and turned to Bill.

“So, what’s the deal with Richie and Eddie?” he asked.

“Suh-Suh-Something huh-huh-huh-happened recently that bruh-bruh-brought them c-c-c-c-closer. N-N-Now they’re, l-l-l-like, b-b- _best_ fruh-fruh-friends,” Bill told him.

He sounded a little jealous that he had been replaced as Richie’s best friend. Mike looked back to the two boys, seeing Richie laugh at whatever Eddie was saying, his arm slung around the boy’s waist. Then, Mike stared long and hard at Bill, wondering about how observant he was.

“Whuh-Whuh-What?” he asked. Mike shook his head. 

“Nothing. What happened to bring them closer together?” Mike queried.

Bill sighed, knowing that this would be the part where Mike would either dismiss any strange occurrences as crazy, or reveal himself to have had his own strange occurrences. He knew that he had to get it out in the open, though, and a good place would be to explain Richie’s time traveling abilities.

So, he started with the story of the photo album, which Stan tuned in for. Ben and Beverly made their way over, catching parts of the story they had already heard. Ben turned down the radio a little. When Richie and Eddie saw that the other five were deep in discussion, and after a moment, decided to join them too. Mike looked over at Richie. 

“So, you can time travel?” Mike asked immediately.

“Well, I can just rewind a little, but yeah, I guess so. Pretty cool, huh?” Richie replied in an attempted nonchalant voice.

They all looked at Mike expectantly, wanting to know what he thought of all this. He was quiet for a moment, but then he suddenly reached for the black book he had retrieved after the rock fight. He waved the Losers over to gather around him, and they all stared intently as he began to flip through the book. 

“Look, time traveling in Derry isn’t a new thing. My dad collects anything and everything about Derry’s history, and from the 1600’s to pictures from the 20’s, there’s this… this _clown_ that constantly pops up. And _always_ around tragedies. See?” Mike said, stopping on a particular set of pages. 

On one side, there was a news clipping about a gang shooting back from the 20’s. The picture showed the bullet-strewn car, with smoke rising out of it. On the other side, there was a sketch from the 1700’s, depicting Derry’s main street. There was a crowd around a man on stilts, and upon closer inspection, the man’s face was covered in makeup, and was dressed as a clown. Lines ran from his mouth to his eyes.

“Now, look.”

Mike pointed to the picture from the shooting. Through the smoke, they were able to make out the outline of someone. The wild hair, and the red makeup, which was definitive through the smoke, matched the sketch on the previous page. 

Richie’s breath caught in his throat. He glanced between the two pictures. His eyes were drawn to the gloves in both. He thought of the gloved hand that emerged from the sewers to draw Georgie back. _Oh god, that’s it. That’s the thing in the sewers._

“I’m not saying you’re connected to whoever this clown is, Richie. But… time traveling is definitely something uncommon to Derry, if these pictures are anything to go by—” Mike began, but was cut off. 

“Guys… The smoke. It’s… It’s…” Ben stammered, pointing at the picture of the car.

They all looked, and their breath caught in their throats. The smoke in the picture was actually moving. Then, the figure behind the smoke climbed on top of the destroyed car, walking closer to the center of the picture. The clown seemed to be staring directly at the kids, its yellow eyes boring into them. Eddie clung onto Richie’s arm. 

“Those… The leper had the same eyes…” he wheezed.

Richie turned to him, remembering his words that day when they went to save Georgie. Bill turned to Eddie, confused by what he was saying. Before he could question him, though, the Losers that were still staring at the picture let out a gasp.

The clown was now standing at the foreground of the picture. It looked at each of the kids individually, all of them holding their breath in terror. Then, the clown lunged forward, its face taking up the entire photograph.

“It’s so good to see you all again,” the clown said, “Let me introduce myself formally; I am Pennywise the Dancing Clown.”

Bill looked at each of his friends, his eyes widening. _Again?_ he thought. He didn’t need to question them, though. He could tell from the look in their eyes that they had been through their own experiences with this strange being.

“And you, children, will join me very, _very_ soon!” 

Before any of them could react, Pennywise took a slight step back. Then, he reached a gloved hand forward, and the Losers couldn’t believe what they saw. The hand shot out of the picture, looking as real as any of their own hands. Before they could react or figure out if it was an illusion, the gloved hand grabbed Eddie by the wrist. 

The clown began to pull Eddie’s hand into the photograph. As it slowly was pulled in, Eddie screamed, his face becoming pale. Richie was able to figure out that while he was terrified, this cry was also because of physical pain. _What the fuck’s happening to him?_

Before he could react, Bill grabbed Eddie’s shoulders from behind and gave a tremendous yank. Eddie tumbled backwards, holding his own wrist close to his chest. Richie wrapped a protective arm around him, still staring intently at the photograph. 

Pennywise made no move to come after Eddie. Instead, he stood in the foreground of the photo, chuckling to himself. Ben reached over and slammed the book shut. However, Richie wasn’t paying attention to anything other than Eddie. As he held him, he realized with a sense of dread that Eddie was bleeding. 

He pulled Eddie’s wrist toward him and saw that there was a gaudy cut that extended all the way across his wrist. It was deep, gushing blood down his hand. Richie realized that the cut was formed at the cutoff point of how far Eddie’s hand had been dragged into Pennywise’s photo. 

“Richie, you have to—” Beverly began, her face becoming pale at the sight of Eddie’s bloody hand.

“No! I can go to the ER. You know you have to be careful with your powers. They’re…” Eddie protested but trailed off as his voice became weaker.

It was at this point that he collapsed, his head slumped against Richie’s shoulders. The other Losers didn’t even try to argue whether they were for or against the idea of using time powers. They knew it would be pointless to convince Richie to do anything other than help Eddie.

Richie held up a palm and began to rewind. Keeping Eddie’s concerns for him in mind, he didn’t go too far, as he stopped at the moment that the smoke began to move in the picture. Once he stopped, he barely paused to listen to his friends’ gasps of surprise upon seeing the smoke trickling upwards in the photo.

Instead, he grabbed the book from Mike’s hands and slammed it shut. He held by the edges as tightly as he could, his hands turning white with the effort. At that moment, his biggest concern was how he could possibly fight against an entity that could attack through photographs.

“What are you doing?” Stan asked, sounding a little scared. 

“Mike, Bill, you badly need, like, a book exorcist or some shit. I don’t know who’s selling you your photo albums, but these fucking things are cursed,” Richie replied. 

Mike looked at his father’s book with apprehension, wondering what had happened. He had quickly pieced together that Richie had rewound to prevent something. Thankfully, he seemed to have prevented it, as the book showed no signs of causing trouble.

Instead, Ben’s radio whirred to life again. Once again, there was a brief moment of white noise, which caught all the kids’ attention. Then, the static was replaced by a voice that sounded as clear as a bell: 

“Children! A word to the wise from your friend, Pennywise: You can’t change _anything.”_

Then, the clown began to chuckle. The Losers listened in stunned silence as the chuckling descended into a more manic type of laughter. This laughter kept going until it became more distorted and garbled until it eventually cut off. The very moment that it cut off, Richie blacked out once more.

_The storm is getting closer. The coldness on his skin returns, along with that horrible, inexplicable fear. He can see debris flying closer, flying towards him it gets closer closer closer closer—_

_THWACK!_

“Bill, what the _hell?!”_ Eddie shrieked. 

With that, Richie came back to the present moment, thankfully quicker than the last time he had the vision of the storm, which seemed to extend for a painfully long time. As he came to his senses, he felt a sharp stinging sensation against his cheek. All the Losers were looking at him with concern.

“A-A-Are y-y-y-you o-o-okay?” Bill asked. 

“Did you just slap me?” Richie asked in return, shocked. Bill looked away, a little embarrassed.

“I-I-I-I didn’t know whuh-whuh-whuh-what to d-d-d-do,” he muttered. This caused Eddie to glare at him.

“Well, you don’t do _that!_ He was seizing up! You don’t _hit someone who’s seizing up!_ Dammit—” Eddie began to scold.

“Okay, _okay,_ let’s not fight! Richie, what happened back there with the book?” Ben asked.

“Oh, you know, the usual. Clown in the background walked toward us, reminded us we’ve all met it in some way before, threatened us, then tried to grab Eddie for a snack. Oh, and he almost got his hand torn off! Just another day for the Losers’ Club!” Richie snapped back.

Eddie walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him a little to grab his attention. Richie looked at him, already beginning to calm down a little. 

“I wish you didn’t put your health at risk, but… thank you. You’re always looking out for me,” Eddie said. 

Richie smiled at him, feeling grateful that there was some payoff to what he had done. They began to walk a little bit away of the rest of the Losers, but before they could get very far, Bill caught their attention. 

“Richie! Whuh-Whuh-What d-d-d-did you muh-muh-muh-mean by it muh-muh-muh-met u-u-us a-a-all buh-buh-before?” Bill asked.

“I think I know what he meant,” Ben said, hugging himself.

Bill looked at him curiously, but then saw that his friends had similar looks on their faces. He steeled himself, knowing that his friends had experienced terrible things too. He listened intently as Ben began to tell them about his encounter with the mummy. He briefly looked up and saw that Richie and Eddie were still standing a little bit away from the group, caught up in their own discussion. He decided to leave them be, deciding they could catch up later. Besides, they had enough of a traumatic afternoon as it was.

Eddie still kept his arm around Richie’s shoulder. He could feel that Richie was trembling, and once again, an urge to ask him about what had happened during that blackout arose, but he decided to ignore it. It was something Richie clearly wasn’t ready to talk about, so he decided to leave it be. 

“I know what you saw happen to me was scary, but look, I’m okay now, aren’t I? You saved me again. You should be really proud of yourself,” Eddie attempted to comfort him. Richie half shrugged, his face turning red.

“It’s fine. I’m always gonna try and save you, so it’s not really a hero thing. It’s just… _fuck,_ we were all having fun just a few minutes ago! This summer can’t stay normal for two fucking seconds,” he replied.

Eddie bit his lip. He understood why Richie was frustrated, but he had no idea how to help. This summer definitely wasn’t going to be normal now that it was revealed that all of them had met Pennywise in some form, and that it was out to get them. Still, he wanted to do something to help. So, after a few moments had passed, he spoke up once more.

“We can still try and enjoy your summer, you know. How about I come stay at your place tonight? We can watch a movie or something. No immortal clowns or no near-death experiences. Promise. So, what do you say? Can I stay over?” Eddie asked. Richie’s eyes brightened at that.

“Hey, that’s not a half bad idea! I have a bunch of new voices to test out, so you can listen to—”

“E-E-Eddie, that’s a great i-i-i-idea,” Bill said, coming up to them, having caught the last part of their conversation. “I-I-If we stuh-stuh-stay together t-t-t-tonight, w-w-w-we can fuh-fuh-fuh-figure out what t-t-t-to do a-a-about Puh-Puh-Puh… it.”

The rest of the Losers were quick to follow behind, each of them in agreement with Bill’s idea. Richie felt a slight pang of irritation. He couldn’t understand why—he loved spending time with all his other friends, but for some reason, he would have liked to have some time alone with Eddie.

“Richie’s room won’t fit all of us,” Stan pointed out, “We should stay somewhere else. And is your dad going to be okay with you sleeping over, Beverly?”

“Yeah, it’s… it’s fine. He’s working an overnight shift tonight, so it’ll be okay as long as I get home early in the morning,” she said, shrinking a little at the mention of her father. 

“If you guys are worried about fitting everyone in, we don’t _have_ to stay at Richie’s. My living room could definitely fit us all in,” Mike interjected, “And besides, my folks would probably love to meet you.”

It was unspoken that this was the first friend group Mike had ever had. He was eager to show his father that his hunt for more artifacts from Derry’s history resulted in a new group of friends instead. 

“Your parents are going to think we’re the worst group ever as soon as Richie opens his mouth,” Stan muttered. 

“Hey! Parents love me! I’m a delight!” Richie protested.

He looked around at his friends for confirmation, but all of them refused to look at him, aside from Stan, who looked at him with a deadpan expression.

* * *

“That’s so sweet! Why, aren’t you just the cutest?” Jessica Hanlon cooed after Richie complimented a painting she had hung above the kitchen table. Richie looked away, faking shyness. 

The others stood there, all stunned. Somehow, Richie was managing to charm Mike’s mother. Will had only met Mike’s new friends briefly, as he was busy with work, but the approving smile he gave Mike said everything he needed to know. 

The sky was tinted with pink as the sun began to set. The kids knew they wouldn’t have much time for outdoor activities, and when they arrived back at the house, Jessica was quick to reassert this. She was nervous about the thought of Mike staying out past dark, and now that these kids were staying tonight too, she felt a need to look out for them. So, she had ordered a pizza for them and suggested they watch a movie.

For now, though, they were frozen to the spot, watching as Richie put on the sweetest act they had ever seen, all for the purpose of proving Stan wrong. Jessica was about to say something else, but then there was a knock at the door.

“That must be the pizza. You kids go find a movie to put on, and I’ll bring the food in soon,” she instructed. 

As she hurried out of the kitchen, the kids made their way out of the kitchen and into the living room. Richie turned to Mike, who was still awed by his polite display.

“Your mom’s a total babe,” he whispered, grinning.

“If you ever talk about my mom like that again, you’re never allowed back here,” Mike replied. 

“You just have to get used to it, Mike,” Eddie said, frowning at Richie. 

Mike decided the best thing to do was to ignore any further quips Richie might have about his mother, and instead began to dig through his collection of movies. Eventually, he pulled out a copy of _Blade Runner,_ holding it up so the rest of the Losers could see. They nodded their approval. 

As he set up the movie, the rest of the kids began to find somewhere to sit. Richie and Eddie took up the right-hand side of the sofa, close together as the others began to pile on. Bill and Stan took up the rest of it, and when Ben and Beverly saw that the couch was full, they sat on the floor, directly underneath Richie and Eddie. Mike had never seen the couch that full before, but plopped down on the ground, a little bit away from Ben and Beverly.

“You guys haven’t seen this before, have you?” he asked.

All of them shook their heads, but as they did so, Richie noticed that Stan was looking at him suspiciously. He raised an eyebrow, but Stan didn’t justify with an answer, and instead turned to face the television as the opening credits began.

While Richie found the idea of cloned humans cool, he found himself quickly bored, unable to keep up with the conversations in the early parts of the movie. He was worried he was the only one that was bored, and that he would need to counter this boredom with terrible jokes.

But that worry was quickly taken care of when he felt a weight fall against his shoulder. He was surprised to see that Eddie was leaning his head against him for support. He moved his head slightly, and his nose brushed against Eddie’s hair. It didn’t take Richie long to realize that he had fallen asleep, judging by his soft breathing. He considered making a quip to wake him up, but after a moment, decided he was fine like this. 

They remained like this for the duration of the movie. Richie remained frozen, not daring to move in case he woke Eddie up and he moved his head away. He looked around at his friends instead. He saw that Stan, Mike, and Bill were engrossed, carefully following the film. Ben was in a similar state to Richie—his attention was slightly on the film, but mainly his focus was the person sitting beside him, in this case, Beverly. During a particularly violent moment, Beverly gasped and hid her face in Ben’s shoulder, who looked like he had just received an electric shock. 

Once the credits began to roll, Mike turned around to ask what everyone thought about the ending, but then faltered when he saw that Eddie was asleep, and raised his eyebrows at Richie, grinning. Richie looked utterly confused, but then realized that since the credits were rolling, there was no reason to let Eddie keep sleeping. He gently poked his friend in the side, causing Eddie to stir.

“Hey, sleeping beauty, what’d you think of the film?” he asked teasingly.

“Huh? Great,” Eddie mumbled back in reply, rubbing his eyes.

“Yeah, I bet you found it great. You were _so_ invested,” Beverly teased. 

“You know, Richie, I’m impressed,” Stan cut in, “I thought you were going to rewind and spoil the entire movie for us, but we actually made it through spoiler-free.” 

When Stan saw the devilish look on Richie’s face, he instantly regretted speaking. Richie held up his palm, ready to rewind for the simple purpose of annoying his friends, but then froze. If he rewound, Eddie wouldn’t have fallen asleep against his shoulder, and he’d be taking away a moment between Ben and Beverly. He put his hand down.

“I’m offended you’d think I’d ever do something like that!” Richie said, pretending to be annoyed. 

Amidst all this, Bill was staring intently at the floor, contemplating something heavy on his mind. While he did enjoy the movie, his thoughts were once again completely filled by the thing lurking in the sewers, who was undoubtedly the key to Georgie’s disappearance.

“Guys, I-I-I think w-w-w-we need to d-d-d-d-discuss what to d-d-d-do n-n-n-now,” Bill said, his tone serious. Richie shifted around, clearly uncomfortable. 

“What to do now? Like play a board game or something, right?” he said.

“What, and let you keep rewinding until you win?” Stan asked. Before Richie could reply with another quip, Beverly spoke up. 

“This is fun and all, but… Bill’s right. Kids are going missing every day, so we need to find a solution to this as soon as possible. We should start talking strategy,” she said.

The others were silent, but the lack of objection was enough to spring Mike into action. Walking over to the bookshelf beside the television, he reached up on his toes and pulled down an old looking book with red binding. The letters on the spine were faded. 

“Okay, ever since I met It, I’ve been thinking… how do you _destroy_ something immortal? Well, from every story I’ve ever read about immortal creatures, they’re at their weakest when they’re first born,” he explained as he flicked through the book.

“Hey, you’re forgetting we don’t know how old that thing is. It could have been around since the beginning of time for all we know!” Eddie said.

“That’s what I was thinking too. So… we have two options here. I only considered one of the options after meeting you guys, and I’m not going to lie, I’m sure you won’t like it,” he said.

“Wuh-Wuh-Wuh-We’ll try a-a-a-a-anything,” Bill said.

“Okay, well… Richie has his time travel powers. You said you were able to go back to last October, right? He _could_ try rewinding back to when It first came to Derry, and take it down from there,” Mike explained. 

Richie let in a sharp intake of breath at that and looked down at his now trembling palms. Traveling months back was scary enough, but traveling back to the beginning of time sounded unspeakable. But he knew that if he had to go back that far to help his friends, he would. 

“No, _no._ No way. If he gets bad side effects from rewinding a couple of minutes, going back _centuries_ could kill him! He can’t do that alone!” Eddie immediately protested. Mike held up his hands, shaking his head.

“It’s okay, Eddie, I know. We still don’t know the full extent of his powers, so he _could_ manage that, but we’ll leave it as a possibility for now. What I’m thinking of, though, is this,” he said, pointing to a page he had now stopped on.

Once again, the Losers gathered around the book. Richie felt a horrible sense of déjà vu, remembering the moment that Pennywise threatened them from another book. Thankfully, there was no sign of Pennywise in this book. 

Instead, they read over a page detailing an old ritual, known as, ‘The Smokehole.’ It detailed the process, which involved building a fire and inhaling the smoke until the group was in a hallucinogenic state, where they would then see an important vision. 

“Here’s what I’m thinking; if we do this, we’ll be brought back to the moment It arrived, and we can take it down from there,” Mike said.

“Are you sure putting ourselves in danger like this is the _best_ idea?” Eddie asked.

“If we want to return to the beginning of time to stop an immortal being, we don’t really have many options here, do we?” Beverly said with a sigh. 

The silence stretched out amongst the group for a moment. They were each mulling over their two possible options, not liking the sound of either of them. Eddie looked over at Richie and saw that he looked pale, possibly at the thought of rewinding that far.

“Guys, can we put this on hold and do something more fun? This thing clearly isn’t going anywhere. We can take a bit of a time to relax, can’t we?” Eddie suggested. 

Once again, the group was silent. The other Losers looked at Bill, knowing that he was the most adamant about researching ways to defeat It. The tension seemed to build for a moment, and then he turned to Mike. 

“D-D-D-Do you have any buh-buh-buh-board g-g-games?” he asked.

Mike slammed the book shut, looking almost relieved. As he went to fetch one of the games, Eddie was still looking at Richie with concern. Even though he knew he’d be quick to shrug off any queries about how he was feeling, Eddie knew that he was worried. So, he decided that he would do all he could to make Richie’s life a little brighter that summer. 

* * *

 

The kids played board games late into the night, their spirits brightening as time went on. They were in highly competitive spirits, with cheating accusations often being thrown at Richie, which he vehemently denied (he only rewound twice during Monopoly to avoid the jail card, which he didn’t count as cheating). Once they had gotten through the majority of Mike’s board games, they could barely keep their eyes open, and decided to call it a night.

Six out of seven of the kids fell asleep quickly. The only one left awake was Richie, who was curled up in a sleeping bag between Eddie and Stan. All he could hear was the sound of his friends’ heavy breathing and the ticking of the clock on the wall. Each second seemed to go by slowly. 

The moonlight illuminated the clock’s hands. It was 12:57am. Richie was deep in thought about his powers, wondering exactly _why_ he had been granted them, and whether or not he could use them against Pennywise. He still didn’t fully understand the powers. 

It astounded him with just one movement with his hand, he was able to rewind time. Staring at the clock, he slowly raised his palm and focused. He watched as the hands rapidly moved backwards. At around 12:06am, he froze the moment. The second hand didn’t move, and the room was silent. Then, he let go, and the clock’s hands moved rapidly again, until he was back in the present minute. 

Richie repeated this action a few more times, moving within the hour. The Losers slept quietly as he did this. As he continued, he could feel himself gradually growing more and more lightheaded. He stopped eventually when he felt something trickle down his nose once more. 

“Shit! Again?!” he hissed, wiping at the blood with his finger.

This exclamation caused Eddie to stir, who was sleeping lightly after his nap during the movie earlier. Even in the dark room, he was able to make out that Richie’s nose was bleeding once more, having picked up on the smell. He immediately sat up, causing Richie to flinch.

“Are you okay?” Eddie asked quietly.

“Yeah, it’s just my nose again,” Richie replied, trying to sound nonchalant.

Eddie wriggled out of his sleeping bag and pulled Richie up by his arm. They tiptoed around their friends’ sleeping forms. They made their way silently down the hallway, and once they reached the bathroom, Eddie switched the light on and led Richie inside.

Richie perched himself on the edge of the bathtub and watched as Eddie gathered up a scrunch of toilet paper. Eddie walked back over to him, sitting next to Richie, and slowly began to dab the toilet paper against the blood. Richie could see that he was in deep concentration, worried that it might continue bleeding. 

“Were you playing around with your powers again?” Eddie asked.

“A little,” Richie murmured.

_“Richie!”_

After letting out a little sigh, Eddie finished wiping up the blood, and discarded the toilet paper. However, he didn’t get up and leave the bathroom. Instead, he stayed sitting beside Richie, his disapproval replaced by concern. 

“Are you really okay after earlier? You looked pretty shaken up by Mike’s idea,” he said, “which I completely disapprove of, by the way.”

“Yeah, I’m good!” Richie chirped, but faltered under Eddie’s gaze. “Okay, things could be a bit better, I guess.”

“Are you anxious about your powers?”

“Well, no, it’s not that exactly, it’s just… I want to use them for fun stuff, like annoying Stan and all that. But instead, I keep seeing all these awful things like Bill dying, Georgie getting his arm ripped off, bad stuff happening to you over and over… It’s not fun at all.”

“I’m sorry. But if it helps… I really appreciate how much you’ve been looking out for me,” Eddie said, reaching over and squeezing Richie’s hand.

Eddie took a while to move his hand away, and Richie made no attempt to pull back. Eventually, Eddie jolted back into action, and pulled away. Richie’s face turned a little red, realizing that he made no effort to pull away. There was an awkward silence between them, which Eddie then broke.

“You know, I was kind of hoping that we were alone tonight. I mean, I had fun with the others and all, but I did just want to spend tonight cheering you up. It’s weird not to see you be your usual gross self,” he said. 

Richie blinked a few times, surprised at this admission. He always got embarrassed when people admitting to caring about his wellbeing, which he countered by trying to make the other person equally as embarrassed. By doing this, he pinched Eddie’s cheek with one hand and ruffled his hair with the other.

“Aw, Eds, I’m _always_ gonna be my usual gross self!” Richie reassured him as he tried to wriggle away. 

When Eddie got away, Richie faced the wall, knowing that if there was anyone he wanted to be honest about his feelings with, it was Eddie. Bracing himself for another serious moment, he reached over and hugged Eddie. As he hugged him, he allowed himself to remember how lucky he was to have Eddie here beside him, alive and well. 

“Just being around you cheers me up, you know that? You don’t always have to look out for me. As long as I’ve got you, I’m fine,” he admitted. Eddie returned the hug.

“Thank you, but… I still wish there was some way I could _actually_ help out with your time powers. I want to find some way to lighten the load. You shouldn’t be dealing with this all on your own. If there was some way we could go through it together, I’d do it.”

Richie continued hugging him in silence, and then froze. _If there was some way we could go through it together._ For some reason, the book about the Smokehole flashed in his mind. He thought of Mike’s two plans, and what Eddie had just said.

“Fuck. I think I just found out what we’re going to do about the stupid fucking clown,” Richie groaned.

Eddie pulled back and looked at him questioningly. The idea that was beginning to form in Richie’s mind had a strong possibility of failing, but now that he had fixated on it, he knew he had to try it. 

He left the bathroom, Eddie quickly following in tow.

“What is it?!” Eddie cried.

“We’re going to try the Smokehole thing as a group. At the same time, I’m gonna travel back in time. And all of you are going to try and use my time powers too,” he said.

Eddie looked at him with wide eyes, his face paling. It wasn’t at the thought of trying out time travel, but at the thought of how Richie was okay with traveling back that far. Before he could object, though, Richie threw open the door of the living room, and turned the light on.

“Rise and shine, Losers! I’ve figured out what we have to do!” he shouted. While the majority of them groaned and try to go back to sleep, Mike and Bill were now sitting up, listening intently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, okay, didn't intend for the chapter to be that long at all, but I had so many ideas to incorporate! Next chapter is going to be about the Smokehole, but with a little extra time travel thrown in, and a little more interaction between It and the kids. Please let me know what you thought of the chapter!! <3


	7. Smokehole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one night??? Please don't ask me how it happened, I didn't intend to write so much tonight. But here it is anyways! Enjoy!

 

“I don’t like this one bit,” Eddie said for the fifth time that day.

At this point, the others ignored him. Ben and Stan were gathering wood together, handing it over to Bill and Mike to put together for the fire. Earlier that day, the Losers had dug a hole in the ground, which they would cover with tarp during the Smokehole process. Richie had been instructed to sit and relax, so that he would be as energized as possible when it came to rewinding.

It had been a few days since the sleepover. Mike and Bill were immediately on board with Richie’s idea, Mike being particularly impressed by Richie’s merging of Mike’s two potential plans. Now, they were finally putting it into motion, all of them terrified of what was to come, but they continued to work silently.

“Guys, it’s done,” Ben said, holding one end of the tarp, with Stan holding the other end.

Eddie looked over at Richie with concern. Richie patted his arm, knowing how nervous he was for Richie’s sake. Together, they strode over to the others, looking down into the hole. The kindling didn’t rise too high, but it was enough to let a fire burn for as long as the needed. 

“You don’t have to do this. They have to understand if you’re going to back out, right?” Eddie whispered. 

“I’m not going to. I know it’s scary, but it’s our best chance at getting rid of It,” Richie told him, and then squeezed his shoulder, “If I feel really sick, I’ll stop, okay?”

Eddie seemed relatively satisfied with that. They followed the rest of the Losers down into the hole. They were the last to join. Once they were all seated, Beverly pulled the tarp over the hole, and they were briefly submerged in darkness.

Then, Bill lit a match, and his face was illuminated in the darkness of the area. He looked over at Richie, his expression serious.

“I-I-If you wuh-wuh-want t-t-to buh-buh-back o-o-out—” he began.

“You already know my answer. We don’t have all day to listen to you stutter, just light the damn thing!” Richie said quickly.

Bill nodded, and held the match to the kindling. Slowly, the flame spread across the various pieces of wood. The others looked at each other, knowing what they had to do. They had no idea if it would work, but it was a plan to utilize, at least. 

Bill laid his palm flat over the fire, his hand tickled by the heat below. Mike laid his hand on top. This action was followed in order by Stan, Ben, Beverly, and Eddie. All the Losers looked at Richie, a look of curiosity and fear in their eyes. Richie took in a deep breath and placed his hand on top of Eddie’s. When he saw how scared Eddie looked, he gave his hand a quick squeeze, before laying it flat on top of his palm.

 _Okay, here goes,_ he thought, his heart racing. Then, he began to rewind. 

His answer about whether or not the Losers could travel back with him was immediately answered. They all flinched, with a few gasping. Richie’s eyes met Eddie’s, who was at first scared, but was now looking at him with awe.

“Is this…?” he asked, trailing off.

“Yup, this is what it’s like to rewind,” he confirmed. 

The others looked on into the flames in concentration. The smoke was making their eyes water, but they didn’t waver. They were becoming more lightheaded with each passing minute. Then, the crackling of the kindling was replaced by the sound of distant voices.

“S.S. Georgie, coming through!” Georgie’s cheery voice rang out, accompanied by the splashing of his galoshes in puddles. 

“Juh-Juh-Georgie!” Bill gasped and yanked his hand away from the pile.

Although the other Losers didn’t notice, as they were too busy focusing on rewinding, Bill was thrust back to the present day. He looked down at his shaking hand, wondering if he should rejoin his friends. However, at that moment, the smoke became too much to breathe in.

He moved the tarp by an inch and climbed out, quickly closing it back over. He briefly worried if his friends were okay, but knew that he couldn’t stop this process. He sat there, still staring at his hand. _I’m still going to find you, Georgie. I promise that._

The others had briefly realized that Bill had left the group, but they had all accepted earlier that not all of them would be able to make it back to the moment It arrived. Of course, the more of them that made it, the better, but they decided they’d work with what they had.

Richie briefly looked around at all his friends. All of them, even Eddie, had a calm, concentrated look on their faces. They were quickly adjusting to the process of rewinding. He had to admit that having his friends contribute to the time traveling process made his burden a little easier.

As they became more lightheaded, the walls of dirt around them seemed to melt away. Instead, when they looked over their shoulders, they could see that they were on the main street of Derry, people moving in reverse. They watched as two teenage boys made their way down the street. 

“I can’t ever see you as a dad,” one boy snorted.

“Well, it’s gonna happen someday,” the other snapped back.

“You? As a dad? That kid’s going to be _fucked.”_

“Any kid of mine’s going to be raised good and proper. Won’t ever disobey me, or they’ll know what’s coming to them real quick. I’d be a great dad. I’d worry about them all the time.”

“Would you like a boy or a girl?”

“Girl. They’re easier to control. I’d name her Beverly. Ain’t that a nice name?”

Throughout this entire exchange, Beverly’s face was growing paler and paler. Her stomach heaved, as if she were about to get sick. When she heard her father’s younger self mention her name, she screamed and yanked her hand away from the pile, quickly climbing out after Bill. 

“Beverly!” Ben cried, ready to pull his hand away too, when Eddie shook his head.

“We need all the help we can get, right? Please. Stay until you really can’t stay here any longer.”

Ben bit his lip, but nodded, feeling defeated.

Richie felt a pang of worry. They hadn’t even made it out of the twentieth century and they had already lost two members of the group. Taking a deep breath, he focused all his energy into rewinding faster and faster. The years rolled away quicker. Cars were replaced by horses, and the streets’ foundation became cobblestone.

Somewhere in the distance, there was a loud explosion, accompanied by the screams of children. In that moment, the smoke from the fire seemed to grow more intense, and all the Losers could taste was smoke.

“Was that the Ironworks?” one man asked. “There’s an Easter hunt there today, right?”

The cries of the children echoed in Stan’s head, reverberating. Between the children’s cries and the smoke he was inhaling, it became too much to process. He shook his head, pulling his hand away and climbing out after Bill and Beverly.

 _Come on, stay, please stay,_ Richie internally begged to his remaining friends. He completely understood why they would abandon the Smokehole, and if it wasn’t for the fact he was controlling all of the time travel, he would’ve tried to leave long ago. But, since he couldn’t, he kept traveling back.

Years and years rolled back. Although he had no way of knowing how far back he was traveling per second, he knew he was at least turning back ten years per second at this stage, and that number was increasing every second. While he still felt incredibly lightheaded, he knew he had to keep going.

The cobble streets became dirt roads. The storefronts were mere huts, with wooden tables poised outside. They saw a man chase another man, brandishing an axe.

_“I warned you to stay the fuck away from my wife!”_

With a swift, violent motion, the axe connected with the other man’s head, and it cleanly came off. The head flew towards the Losers, and landed at Ben’s feet. He let out a terrified scream, pulling his hand away.

“I can’t! I can’t do it anymore! I’m so sorry but that’s it!” he cried, pulling himself out of the hole.

Only Richie, Eddie, and Mike remained. They kept their eyes on each other, no longer wanting to see what unfolded in Derry’s history. Richie was beginning to feel nauseous, but knew that he had traveled back too far to give up now.

As he kept going, he knew they were approaching the era of early civilization. Mike still had that intense, concentrated look on his face. Eddie, on the other hand, was covered with sweat, and looked as if he were about to faint. Much to Richie’s panic, he saw that his chest was rising and falling in a very irregular fashion.

“Eddie, get out of here,” he told him.

“Can’t let you do it alone,” Eddie whispered back.

“I have Mike here. You have asthma, you idiot! Get out before you get yourself killed!” Richie snapped. 

Eddie contemplated being stubborn for a moment, but then knew there was no point. He reluctantly pulled his hand away. At that moment, he realized how dangerously close he was to destroying his already weak lungs. He scrambled out of the hole, where he was pulled up by his other friends.

Richie and Mike stared at each other from across the fire. The flames were now lapping at their hands, but they barely noticed. The following day, their hands would hurt too much to hold anything for long, but for now, they were numb to it.

“You hanging in there, Mikey?” Richie asked.

“It’s tough, but it’s fine. Nothing I can’t handle,” Mike replied.

Before Richie could say anything, he felt a sudden ominous feeling crawl down his spine. _Here. This is where it happens._ He held the moment in time, now clutching onto Mike’s hand. He was scared to untense his hand. Right now, he felt as if he had stretched out a rubber band, and if he relaxed his grip on it, he would be snapped all the way back to the present day. 

“Don’t let go, or you’ll go back to the present. Got it?” Richie instructed. Mike nodded.

They looked around them. It was difficult to believe that there were dozens of shops in this spot in the present day. All around them were simply fields under a reddened sky. Everything felt eerily quiet. Nobody was in sight. For now, the world belonged to Richie and Mike, in an era centuries before they were born.

Richie began to worry that they had arrived in the wrong era. Just as he was about to rewind further, a glint of light suddenly appeared in the sky. The light became bigger and bigger. The two boys realized it was barreling towards them. They took a step back, Richie averting his gaze from what was arriving. 

There was a magnificent crash. Richie kept his eyes squeezed shut, but even with his eyes closed, he could sense the blinding light radiating from the thing that just landed. _It. This is It’s first arrival!_ he thought, knowing that he was right. 

Slowly, he turned his head towards Mike, wondering why his friend was so quiet. He realized that his hand had become limp. When Richie opened his eyes, still not looking at It, he saw that Mike’s eyes were glazed and his mouth was ajar. He was staring directly at It’s true form. 

“No! Stay with me!” Richie cried and rewound a few seconds.

Once again, It crashed into the earth.

“Mike, don’t look at it! You can’t look directly at it!” he screamed. Mike was quick to understand, and averted his gaze too.

 _What can we do? What the fuck can we do?!_

As Richie continued averting his gaze, his eyes were drawn to a large branch on the ground. He picked it up with his free hand, as his other hand was still holding Mike’s. Letting out a small whimper, he guided the stick in the direction of the glowing light, still not looking at It.

There was a sound almost like a scream, and Richie’s jaw dropped, in disbelief that this was hurting It. However, he quickly realized the blinding light wasn’t dying down at all. Shaking, he pulled the stick back, and saw that the end of it was nothing more than crumbling ash.

“Richie, I… I don’t think there’s anything we can do here… It’s just as powerful as it is in the present day,” Mike said, his cracking voice indicating he was on the verge of tears.

 _“Richieeeee… Mike…_ I know you both. My power extends beyond the mere limits of time. And that means your little powers can’t change anything. _The past is obdurate. I will always win."_

The light suddenly became more intense. Richie realized that it intended to envelop them and take them before they could return to the present day. With a terrified scream, Richie released his hold on the moment and launched himself back into the future, his grip on Mike’s hand turning his knuckles white.

Centuries flung by them at an alarming rate. The dirt walls began to amend themselves. When Mike and Richie landed back in the present day, they stumbled to the ground. The fire was dwindling, but the smoke had taken over the entire hole. _What was that? Was that really my time powers or all an illusion of the Smokehole?_ Richie thought, panicked. He didn’t feel any symptoms he usually felt after time traveling. 

He decided that was a concern for another day. For now, he needed to get out of the Smokehole. However, he found that he could barely move. Mike, who was a lot more energized noticed this too. He pushed aside the tarp. Then, he wrapped his arms around Richie’s torso and pulled him out.

As soon as Richie was pulled out into the fresh air, he rolled onto his knees, coughing rapidly after being in the Smokehole for what felt like a lifetime. Even though he had just been pulled out, and all his friends knew that he and Mike would have information on It’s origin, none of them seemed to pay attention.

“Guys, it was just as powerful, me and Mike couldn’t… wait, what’s going on?” Richie trailed off.

The entirety of the Barrens seemed to be submerged in red. The clouds above them were tinted with orange and red colours, far more different from the colours of sunrise and sunset. Cicadas cried out, but that was the only sound to be heard in the awed silence of the group. Ben laid his hand on Beverly’s shoulder, looking all around them. Beverly quietly put her hand over his, looking around in awe. 

“There wasn’t any eclipse scheduled this year at all…” Stan gasped, looking around at the unusual colours of the forest.

First, there was the lightning strike that destroyed Bill’s house. And now, an unscheduled eclipse. On top of that, there were the unusual visions of the storm. _There’s no way all these weird weather effects are connected to my time powers, are they?_

His brief worry, along with his terror after witnessing It’s arrival, were all overshadowed by his eagerness to witness an event that rarely came around. When he looked at the sky, all he could see were the reddened clouds. 

“Where? Where’s the sun? I want to see it!” he said. 

Mike looked over at him with relief. He was still reeling from his own experiences with It, but all the Losers were clearly engrossed in the beauty of the eclipse, and Richie had, once again, returned to his usual behaviour. He knew that later on, Bill would have a million questions surrounding It’s origin.

For now though, the Losers just had the beauty of the eclipse. Although they didn’t know, all of Derry had come to a standstill as well to admire the sudden, unpredicted change in weather.

Richie’s frantic search around the sky for the sun in its unusual form was cut off. Eddie had strode over, grabbed his face with both hands, and pulled his head down, so that they were looking each other directly in the eye.

“Richie, no! You _never_ look directly at the sun during an eclipse! Do you want to become even more blind than you already are?!” Eddie scolded.

He became slightly calmer upon seeing that Richie didn’t try to wrench himself away to find the sun. However, he still didn’t trust him completely not to do something reckless, so he kept holding onto his face. 

What Eddie didn’t know was that Richie had no intentions of trying to wriggle away. Instead, he gazed at Eddie, whose features were highlighted by the red light that surrounded them all. He took in every feature of his face, from the tidiness of his hair, to the worry in his eyes with grey specks in them, to his lips, pressed together in concentration as he focused on Richie. All of this, highlighted by the redness of the sky, made Richie realize for the first time that he found this boy beautiful.

Unexpectedly, he found himself thinking of Ben’s poem for Beverly. When he read it, he understood that Ben found Beverly to be beautiful and that the best way to express that was through his words. While Richie considered himself blessed with the gift of words, he could have never been upfront in describing the beauty of someone he cared for. It simply never occurred to him, until that very moment.

_I think I get you now, Ben._

His fierce need to protect Eddie. The way that Eddie’s mere presence calmed him down. His constant schoolyard teasing. Feeling happier than he ever felt when Eddie showed him gratitude or affection. And now, seeing Eddie under the light of a new sky.

He realized, for the first time, that he was falling for one of his best friends.

This was something that never occurred to Richie to say aloud, though. Instead, he just gazed at Eddie, who was still intent on protecting Richie from harm. They stayed like that for a while longer as the rest of their friends took in the beauty of the Barrens on that summer evening.


	8. Confidant

A week had passed since the Smokehole. The newspapers of Derry had been full of reports concerning the unexpected eclipse the following day. When the Losers had read these articles, they knew the answers to the reporters’ open questions about how an unexpected eclipse came about. There definitely had to be a connection between meeting It at the moment it arrived in Derry and the eclipse. 

This was something that they didn’t get a chance to discuss, though, until a week had passed. Stan had to go visit relatives and Ben felt ill for a few days. Ben’s sudden sickness worried the others, as they were afraid it was connected to him going back in time. Luckily, he was completely fine by the time they all met up again.

In the quiet week, the Losers only met in groups of two or three, which gave them a lot of time to muse over the events of the summer thus far. Mike busied himself by recording his meeting with It. He cut out a newspaper clipping recording the eclipse and attached it to the opposite page of his notebook, feeling that they were connected.

Richie, in the meantime, thought very little of his encounter with It. Just like the aftermath of his return to October, he was briefly deeply upset and disturbed when reflecting on his meeting with It, but pushed it as far away from his mind as he could in the hopes of continuing on life as normal.

However, instead of returning to normality, his thoughts about It were instead just replaced by contemplations on the moment he had with Eddie during the eclipse. A part of him wished that he hadn’t become aware of his feelings, considering every time they had met up that week, he had been unable to stop any affectionate thoughts he had about Eddie. He felt an urge to talk to Ben about his feelings, considering that Ben was similarly dealing with having feelings for a friend, but then remembered how unsubtle Ben was about his feelings. 

 _I guess there’s nothing I can do about my feelings, huh?_ he thought as he rode his bike to the Barrens that day. He felt dejected at the thought of bottling up his feelings, considering he tended to wear his heart on his sleeve around Eddie in the past. His mind had been spinning with thoughts about his feelings for the past week, and he had reached no definitive conclusion on what he could possibly do.

So, he decided that he would do what he usually did, and just go with the flow. He took that approach on the day that all of the Losers would be reunited for the first time in a week. Once he approached the slope leading down to the Barrens, he hopped off his bike and ran down, seeing that nearly all of them were there, except for Stan. 

Before Richie could ask where Stan was, there was a sound of footsteps approaching, accompanied by twigs snapping under the person’s feet. For a moment, his heart stopped, worried that Henry decided to finally show his face again. But, when he turned around, he was relieved to see it was just Stan, carrying large backpack.

“Sorry, I just got back. I didn’t miss anything, did I?” he asked.

“Nuh-Nuh-Nuh-No. We d-d-d-d-decided to wuh-wuh-wait until e-e-e-e-everyone was here,” Bill reassured him.

“Yeah, thanks for delaying us all, Stan!” Richie chimed in.

“Hey, you _just_ got here too. What took you so long? Stan had an excuse,” Beverly said. 

Richie shrugged. He didn’t have a great reason—he just happened to oversleep that morning. The argument was quickly shut down when Bill glared at the three of them, clearly not in the mood for fighting. Out of the corner of his eye, Richie could see that Eddie looked a little amused by the exchange that had just taken place. 

With that, the two late arrivers took their seats in the little circle that the group formed. Stan wedged himself between Ben and Mike, while Richie took his usual place beside Eddie, not quite looking his friend in the eye. With everyone present, Bill looked over at Mike, who was clutching onto the notebook that he had started working on earlier that week. 

“So…?” Bill said, looking down at the notebook in anticipation.

“Right. Well, I haven’t gotten much, but I think it’s enough to confront it,” Mike said.

He opened up the first two pages of the book. The others gathered around to look, their eyes first drawn to the newspaper clipping about the eclipse. On the other page, they looked at the bullet points Mike had jotted down:

  * Came to Derry at beginning of civilization
  * Same level of power all the way through time
  * True form—blinding light?
  * Light can induce comas
  * Silver bullets might kill it?
  * Sewers?



The first few points were all very familiar to Richie, as he had experienced encountering It along with Mike. However, the last two points confused him. He pressed his finger against the page, circling the two points with his fingertip, and then turned to Mike.

“Silver bullets? Sewers? What the hell does that mean?” Richie asked. The others looked at Mike, and Richie was relieved to see that they all looked equally as confused. 

“Okay, well, this is going to sound kind of dumb, but… in all the monster movies, the monsters can always be killed by silver bullets, right? The same could apply to this thing. Even if it is an immortal monster, it’s still a monster. And in movies, monsters can always be killed,” he explained. He looked embarrassed, almost waiting for someone to tell him how stupid that was, but no one seemed to disagree.

“Wuh-Wuh-We can truh-truh-truh-try it. S-S-S-So, what a-a-a-about the suh-suh-sewers?” Bill asked.

“Right. I’m more confident on this one,” Mike said, and turned the page.

The full two pages were taken up by a small copy of the Derry map, which had been glued onto the pages. He marked various ‘X’s in certain spots, often accompanied by writing. On Witcham, he had written, ‘Georgie’. At the Ironworks, he had written, ‘Bird.’ On Neibolt Street, he had written, ‘Richie.’ There were various other examples scattered all around the map.

“What does all this mean?” Eddie asked quietly.

“Okay, you guys see the names I’ve written, right? That’s where everything out of the ordinary has happened in Derry. I got attacked by that bird at the Ironworks, Georgie went missing on Witcham. And Richie, you were first able to use your powers at Neibolt, right?” he said, and Richie nodded his confirmation. 

Mike pointed out thick lines that ran along the map. He traced his finger over them, and as he did so, the others quickly came to realize that the thick lines extended all along the spots that Mike had marked.

“These lines represent the sewer pipes. So… I think that’s where It lives. If we’re going to fight it, we have to go down there. Understand?” he asked.

“Oh god,” Eddie murmured, his face turning pale at the very idea of venturing down into the sewers. 

“We just need to go down there once. Once we defeat It, we’ll never have to think about the sewers again,” Mike reassured him, and then turned to Bill. “So, what do you want us to do now?”

“Wuh-Wuh-We should m-m-m-make those suh-suh-silver bullets,” he suggested. “We c-c-c-can do i-i-it in m-m-m-my garage.”

The others looked at each other for a moment, but then Beverly stood up, ready to go and make the bullets. One by one, the others began to stand up too. Richie was about to, when he noticed that Eddie was still sitting down, his face pale.

“Hey, still scared about going down to the sewers?” he asked. Eddie shook his head.

“It’s not that, it’s just… you guys know this isn’t a job for kids, right? Something really bad could happen down there, and… and I really don’t think we’ll be prepared. This is an adult’s job,” he explained, his voice shaking. Stan turned to face him.

“I hate to break it to you, Eddie, but the adults in this town don’t give a shit about what happens to the kids here. I don’t want to do this either, but… if anyone’s going to take It down, it has to be us,” he said, his voice wavering. “But if you can find one adult in this town willing to help, go ahead, invite them." 

Eddie lowered his head at that, feeling more terrified than ever. Richie’s first instinct was to yell at Stan for being so pessimistic, but he knew deep down that he had a point. The adults showed no concern towards the missing children, so it was no wonder that Stan had such harsh beliefs.

 _But that’s not completely true, is it?_ Richie thought. In his mind, he recalled the past two times he had met Mr. Peterson, who was very clearly concerned about the wellbeing of the Losers. It wasn’t only Mr. Peterson—Mike’s dad was adamant about uncovering Derry’s dark past concerning It, as seen through his collection of photos. He didn’t turn a blind eye to what was going on. Looking over at Eddie, who still looked glum, he knew he had to refute Stan’s point.

“Hey! What about Mr. Peterson?! He doesn’t ignore any of the shit that goes on here! And neither does Mike’s dad! He knows everything about Derry’s history!” he shouted, and then paused to reflect. “And Mr. Peterson’s a history teacher, right? He’d probably want to help us too!”

“Richie, I don’t know. All because they _know_ about Derry’s history doesn’t mean that they’d want to help us out,” Stan replied.

“Wait, no, he has a point. I think my dad would be on board. If you think Mr. Peterson would be as well, then that’s two options we have,” Mike said, “Okay, how about this? The five of us can go make those bullets, meanwhile you two go ask either my dad or Mr. Peterson about joining us. If they don’t believe you, you can just rewind and act like this never happened. That’d set your mind at ease, right, Eddie?" 

“Right,” Eddie said, nodding, and then turned to Richie. “Thanks.”

“S’nothing,” Richie muttered, looking away from him.

The others said goodbye to the two boys and left them on their own. They sat there in silence for a moment, just the two of them in each other’s company for the first time in a while. Eddie turned towards him. 

“So, who should we go to?” he asked.

Richie gulped, not having thought that far ahead. Almost a habit by now, he thrust his hand into his pocket, fiddling with the coin once more. Depending on who they asked, the venture into the sewers could play out differently. 

If they asked Will Hanlon, there would be a strong chance he would prioritize the kids’ safety above all else. He would do anything to protect them, considering his son would be in the mix. However, that was also where a disadvantage lay. If something bad happened to Mike, Will would probably too distraught to provide any further help.

If they asked Robert Peterson, they knew he would also be willing to protect them, as he often promised to do so time and time again by trying to get Henry Bowers to stop. However, that was also a problem—so far, he had just shown that he was capable of handling a human bully. Mr. Peterson was still a young man, which meant that he might not be as physically capable of taking on It.

_Mike’s dad or Mr. Peterson… who the hell do I choose?_

Richie continued turning the coin over and over in his pocket, weighing up the pros and cons. Eventually, he just chose at random. Both were equally good options, and even though they had their flaws, they would provide significant help in the fight against it. He turned to Eddie.

“We’ve got to go to the school. Come on, Eds!”

He began to stride up the slope, but paused when he heard Eddie wheezing behind him. Eddie stopped to take a puff from his inhaler. Then, he caught up with Richie. The two traveled up together in silence, until they reached their bikes. Kicking off the brakes, they began to pedal towards the school. 

Richie found himself occasionally glancing at Eddie. Even though he hated not being able to fully enjoy his summer due to all the hassle surrounding It, he appreciated it as a distraction from his recent discovery of his feelings. Just looking over at Eddie now, he could see that his thoughts about him during the eclipse weren’t just a spur of the moment thing. He still found himself pining after him, and once again, wished that he could have just remained oblivious. 

After gazing at him for some time, Eddie looked over, feeling his gaze. Richie quickly looked away, staring at the road ahead. After a moment, Eddie cleared his throat.

“Hey, is everything okay? You’ve been really quiet lately, and since it’s _you,_ being quiet is definitely something to worry about,” he piped up.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m all good. Just, y’know, thinking about how we’re going to become clown food before the end of the summer,” Richie said. Eddie frowned at that. 

“Nothing’s going to happen to us. I know already you won’t let anything happen to me, you’ve saved me enough times to prove that, but… the same also goes for you. Don’t get me wrong, that clown is the scariest thing I’ve ever seen, but… if something bad happened to you, I’d fight It all on my own, if I had to,” Eddie told him. 

_Fuck. You really aren’t making this easy for me, Eds._

“That’s sweet and all, but leave the clown slaying to the guy with the awesome time powers, alright?” Richie said.

Before Eddie could think of a response, Richie pointed out that they were coming close to the school. They skidded to a halt and parked their bikes against the curb. Then, they began to walk towards the building.

There were very few cars parked around compared to the normal school year, considering that the only teachers that would be around were the ones unlucky enough to teach summer schoolers. However, as it was just gone past 3pm, Richie and Eddie knew that the teachers wouldn’t be hanging around much longer. They picked up the pace, entering the school, and walked down the familiar corridors.

Eventually, they found themselves outside Mr. Peterson’s door. The door was slightly ajar, and through the crack, they were able to see that the man was sorting out his books. He put the books in his bag one by one. Richie and Eddie looked at each other, knowing that they would have to tell him about It now.

Richie pushed the door open, causing Mr. Peterson to look up in curiosity. He looked a little confused, but still managed to smile warmly at the two boys. He gestured for them to come in. Richie strode over to him, with Eddie staying close behind.

“What are you two doing here on such a nice afternoon?” Mr. Peterson asked.

“Uh… well, there’s something we kind of need to talk to you about,” Eddie said quietly, stepping forward. The teacher sat down, concerned at how serious Eddie looked.

“Whatever you need to talk about, I’m here to listen,” he reassured the boys. 

Richie and Eddie looked at each other for a moment, and then began to tell him everything that Mike had told them about Derry’s history concerning It. They conveniently left out parts about Richie’s time powers, but still brought across the basic point that they had all encountered a strange entity this summer, and intend to kill it, but that they needed adult help. 

Once they finished explaining, silence stretched out in the room. Eddie’s heart was thudding, anxious that the man would laugh and tell them they were crazy. Richie’s hands were beginning to tremble, wondering if he would have to rewind the moment and act like it never happened. Mr. Peterson sighed deeply, and then sat forward.

“Boys, I’ve been studying Derry’s history for a long time. I know all about its turbulent past. Years and years of disasters, and yet… there’s always a logical explanation,” he said slowly. 

Eddie’s heart began to drop. _Maybe Stan was right. What adult would believe some crazy story about a killer clown anyway?_ However, before he could nudge Richie to indicate they should leave, the teacher continued.

“Having studied Derry’s history for so long… I know this town all too well. Of _course_ there’s something evil lurking here. I’ve seen those photos and sketches too. That clown… he’s always been here. As long as the adults continue to turn a blind eye, he always _will_ be here,” he said.

“Wait, you believe us?!” Richie exclaimed. Mr. Peterson nodded. 

“I do. What you’re planning to do… I can’t say I think it’s the greatest idea in the world. This entity is dangerous. But I know there’s no point in trying to talk you out of it, so I would much rather accompany you instead of letting you all recklessly do it alone,” he said.

“You’re serious…? You’ll come?” Eddie said quietly.

“Just let me know when you’re planning to go down to the sewers, and I’ll be there. And until then… please stay safe. Danger really sniffs you kids out,” Mr. Peterson replied, frowning. 

“Yup, we’ll be fine! Thank you, thank you, _thank you!”_ Richie called out as he began to back out of the classroom. 

Mr. Peterson waved them off, but he was unable to keep the worried expression off his face. The two boys didn’t notice, though. Richie was now filled with a newfound giddiness, unable to believe that Mr. Peterson was on their side. 

Eddie quickly scampered out after him, smiling. He looked immensely relieved, now that he knew that their chances were a little better against It. He still felt terrified, but now he had a slight bit of comfort. 

Once they left the school, he noticed that Richie was still grinning. He reached over, at first looking like he was going in for a hug, but froze. Then, he held his palm up, indicating for Eddie to high-five, which he did. 

“There’s actually an adult on our side! Can you believe this?! We’re going up against Pennywise with silver bullets, my powers, and an _adult!_ We’ve got this, Eds!” he rambled.

Eddie was too happy about having received Mr. Peterson’s help to scold Richie on using a nickname he wasn’t overly fond of. Also, he found Richie’s enthusiasm to be contagious. He grinned back at him, his heart fluttering.

Richie was still euphoric after the conversation with Mr. Peterson, but his giddiness came to a brief halt as he paused to observe Eddie. He saw as Eddie’s eyes flicked down to Richie’s lips, and Richie was suddenly paralyzed. _No way, don’t read into that._ Then, before he could think any further about it, he noticed that Eddie leaned over slightly. _Okay, I_ can _read into that a little, can’t I?_  

But then, Eddie blinked a few times, and stood upright, as if he had just woken up. He let out a happy sigh, and then looked toward their bikes, still parked on the curb. Richie could tell he was about to suggest going to meet the others, but his mind was already overflowing with questions about what that brief moment had been.

“Were you about to do something?” he blurted out, finding no subtle way to put it. 

“Er…” Eddie faltered. “I… um, was gonna suggest… you know, meeting with the others?”

There was something unconvincing in his tone. Richie knew that the weird atmosphere that had suddenly developed between them wasn’t imagined. He had a faint idea of what Eddie was considering doing, but at the same time, he couldn’t let himself fully believe it. He was in two minds, but before he could figure out what that moment had been, he knew it had passed, as Eddie kept his head down, making his way toward his bike. Richie could make out a faint blush spreading across his cheeks.

Before he could even contemplate what he was doing, Richie held up his palm and rewound for a few seconds. He stopped at the moment after his enthusiastic rambling, this time feeling his heart thudding. He noticed the gleam of admiration in Eddie’s eyes. _Okay, maybe I didn’t imagine this moment,_ he thought.

At the very moment Eddie’s eyes flicked down to his lips and leaned forward ever-so-slightly, Richie knew he had to take the opportunity at the moment it came. His heart was now pounding so loud that he could feel the vibration throughout his entire body. But, he knew the moment was fleeting, and had to act on it in that instant.

He ducked down a little so he could reach Eddie’s height and quickly leaned forward before he could have any seconds thoughts about what he was doing. He pressed his lips against Eddie’s, softly and quickly. It was nothing more than a peck. He pulled away, unable to believe he had actually worked up the nerve to do it. Then, he knew he needed to do the next hard thing, which was to see how Eddie reacted.

When he looked up, he saw that Eddie’s eyes were wide with shock. He slowly brought his fingers to his lips, brushing them lightly, as if in disbelief about what just happened. He kept them pressed there. The faint blush on his face had turned dark, and he found himself unable to look at Richie. After what felt like a lifetime, he finally spoke. 

“You… Did you just…” he stammered, but couldn’t find the right words.

Richie winced and immediately felt shame wash over him. He must have completely misread Eddie’s subtle actions earlier. All he had done was self-project—since he liked Eddie, everything Eddie did must imply that he felt the same way. _Well done, you fucking moron, now you’ve just embarrassed him and yourself,_ he thought.

He found himself unable to speak to Eddie. He held up his palm, ready to rewind the scene and take back this mortifying moment. The moment he held up his palm, however, Eddie sprung to life. He lunged forward and grabbed Richie’s upheld palm.

“Don’t you dare!” he shouted.

Before Richie could figure out what was going on, Eddie pulled him in by the hand he was holding, and gently kissed him. He stroked Richie’s cheek with his free hand, and intertwined his fingers with Richie’s using his other hand. Richie lowered his hand, no longer intending to reverse time. 

When they pulled away, it was Richie’s turn to be wide eyed, which was all the more emphasized by his glasses. His face was equally as red now, but Eddie’s expression didn’t mirror his. While Richie now was the one looking stunned, the corners of Eddie’s mouth had upturned in a shy smile. 

“I like you, Richie. As more than friends. I was never really sure how you felt, but… I guess we solved that one,” he mumbled bashfully.

Richie just stood there, unable to even formulate a reply. He wanted to say something witty, or put on a dramatic scene, but at that moment, his mind was unable to focus on anything other than the fact that Eddie had just kissed him.

Amused, Eddie waved a hand in front of his face, and then burst out laughing. This caused Richie to flinch with surprise. He looked at Eddie questioningly.

“I really left Trashmouth Tozier speechless!” he laughed. 

“I… uh… I’m…” Richie fumbled with his words.

Before he could even formulate a proper sentence, Eddie began to walk over to the bikes, gesturing for Richie to follow. As he hopped on his own bike, he grinned over at Richie.

“Let’s go tell the others about Mr. Peterson,” he said as they rode off.

Richie was already beginning to feel like their conversation with Mr. Peterson took place weeks ago. Now, he was just completely living in the euphoria of the moment—Eddie admitted to having feelings for Richie too. While a part of him was still in utter shock, another part of him felt happier than he had ever been.

Eddie was riding slightly ahead. Richie gazed at him from behind, trying to focus his energy into riding the bike, but finding himself wondering what Eddie was thinking. Unbeknownst to him, Eddie was on the same wave of happiness. The potential horrors that awaited meant nothing to them in that moment. All that mattered was that they had each other, and they wouldn’t have had it any other way.


	9. Ring

 

After that day at the school, Richie and Eddie made the mutual decision not to tell any of the others about what had happened. They never discussed how they would define themselves—they both knew that they had feelings for each other, but they never considered themselves an official couple. So, with that, they reached the conclusion that they had no big announcements for the rest of their friends. 

However, they knew that they were no longer just strictly friends. Over the course of the next few days, they’d subtly show each other affection. If the Losers were huddled up tightly in discussion, they would stand side by side, and when they were sure no one was looking, they would intertwine their hands together. In the evenings, Richie would walk Eddie to the top of his street and give him a quick kiss goodbye, promising to rewind if anyone ever caught them.

So, no, they weren’t in an official relationship, but Richie still felt elated and giddy. He knew that something was definitely happening between them, and that was more than enough to make him happy. For the first time since that fateful day at Neibolt, he felt truly at ease, and that things were finally looking hopeful. Every morning, he was eager for the day ahead. 

Most mornings, he had bounded out of the house in the late morning to meet up with the Losers at the Barrens. This particular morning, however, he was feeling sluggish. He still planned to meet up with the others later, but since they had stayed out late every single night, he was beginning to feel the exhaustion from it. 

That morning, he sat with his eyes barely open at the kitchen table. His parents shared an amused look. Richie rarely seemed to be at home nowadays—he was always spending time with his friends, and for a while, his parents were becoming worried about how distant he was. However, recently, whenever he was at home, he seemed to be in high spirits. It was almost unusual to see him so unresponsive, but they understood, considering it was early in the morning.

“You awake, buddy?” Wentworth asked as he began to pour cereal into his own bowl.

“Mmgh,” Richie mumbled in reply.

His father was about to tease him about staying out too late, but then he noticed something land with a light thud in his bowl. He glanced at what had landed. It was a small, chunky ring with a fake glossy ruby tacked on, clearly designed to resemble an Aztec ring. The ring was wrapped in plastic. Glancing at the cereal box, Wentworth noticed that there was a promise of a prize and figured that must have been the prize. 

He plucked it out of his bowl and in front of Richie. That caused him to stir a little. He picked up the wrapped ring, examining it curiously. He looked at his dad questioningly, wondering if it was for him.

“Well, I’m not going to get any use out of it, so…” he trailed off, shrugging.

With that, Richie quickly unwrapped the ring and put it on his middle finger. He held it up to the morning light, but as it was simply made out of plastic, the gleam from it wasn’t particularly impressive. But still, the gaudy design of it appealed to Richie.

“Cool,” he said, still admiring it.

Relieved to see that he was a bit more awake now, Wentworth poured cereal into his son’s bowl as well, urging him to eat. After bustling around for a few minutes, Maggie finally came over to join her family. There was silence for a moment. She contemplated coaxing Richie into talking about what he had been getting up to with his friends that summer, since she had hardly seen him. Richie didn’t generally need much convincing to start talking, so once he started, she was sure he wouldn’t stop.

However, at the very moment she opened her mouth, there was a frantic pounding at the door. It sounded as if multiple hands were pounding against it. Wentworth and Maggie raised an eyebrow at each other, and meanwhile, Richie sat up straight, ready to bolt. He already knew that his parents’ friends would never call over so early, so there was only one explanation as to who it could be.

He and Maggie got up from their chairs at the same time. The pounding at the door continued until Maggie reached the door and finally opened it. As Richie reached his mother’s side, he looked out the door, and saw his friends standing there.

At first glance, he knew there was something wrong—all of them were there except for Eddie. This was enough to worry him, but what made him scared was the panicked, upset expressions on their faces. Bill was wringing his hands, unable to look Richie in the eye.

“Mrs. Tozier, can we talk to Richie in private?” Mike asked politely, but Richie was able to catch how shaky his voice was.

Maggie nodded, looking a little suspiciously at them for a moment. She was able to tell when something was wrong, as she always looked out for signs of distress in her own son. But, she knew that kids wanted to have their privacy at times too, so she decided to leave them be. Once Richie stepped out onto the porch to join his friends, she hesitantly closed the door.

“What’s up?” he asked the moment they were alone. Bill sighed.

“I-I-It’s E-E-E-E-Eddie. Buh-Buh-Buh-Bowers guh-guh-got him,” he told him upfront.

Richie’s hands began to tremble. He thought back to yesterday—Eddie _had_ left a little earlier than usual, and alone, but Henry hadn’t been seen in about two weeks, so it didn’t even occur to Richie to worry about Eddie running into him. Once again, the mental image of Eddie with a cut throat, and Henry standing over him with a switchblade, sprung into his memory. Slowly, he began to clench his fist and close his eyes, trying to remember the moment Eddie left yesterday. He pictured the mud they had trekked into the Barrens, he imagined—

“Richie, no! He’s not dead! Henry just broke his arm!” Beverly cried. 

“Bowers _got_ him? You couldn’t have made that sound any worse if you tried, Bill,” Stan snapped. 

 _Oh, thank God._ Richie unclenched his fist, but then a surge of guilt came over him. _Thank God? He’s still fucking hurt! All because he isn’t dead doesn’t mean that this is a good thing!_ Shaking his head, he went around the side of the house to get his bike.

“We’re going to go see if he’s okay, right?” he asked, concerned when he saw that the others were still standing on his porch.

“Not even a question. Let’s go,” Mike said, hopping on his own bike. 

With that, the six kids began to bike down the road. Richie’s head was reeling. One minute, he was just relaxing and getting ready for the day, and the next, he was biking to the hospital after an insane bully broke his friend’s arm. He thought back to the previous day, simply waving as Eddie said goodbye. As he rode towards the hospital, he hated himself for not walking Eddie home.

“Where the hell did Bowers even come from? I thought we scared him off for good,” Richie said, as he caught up with the others.

“I have no idea, but we should know better than that. Bowers was going to want revenge after the rock war. He was probably waiting until he caught one of us alone, and he just happened to get lucky yesterday,” Stan said.

Richie frowned at that. He vowed to himself that he would never let Eddie walk home alone again. He was always worried about how Henry would treat his friends, but of course, after what he witnessed at Neibolt, he had an extra fierce need to protect Eddie, which was fueled by how their relationship had changed over the past while. 

Eventually, the Losers arrived at the hospital. They left their bikes in a clutter by the door, not caring about making a mess. All they were concerned about was seeing if their friend was alright. All six of them burst through the double doors, causing the receptionist to flinch.

The moment they entered the hospital, they were hit by the smell of sterilization. It was sparsely decorated, with neutral green colours splashed all over the walls. Their sneakers squeaked against the linoleum, and they frantically looked around.

Most of the time, children were kept in one specific ward. Without a moment of hesitation, they ran down that corridor, the receptionist calling after them to stop running. Most of the doors in that ward were closed, but as they ventured forward, they were able to see that one door was opening.

They froze, wondering if a doctor was coming out. Instead, they saw Sonia Kaspbrak leaving the room, her mouth drawn down in a deep frown. There were dark circles under her eyes, making it clear she hardly got any sleep the previous night. When she turned and saw her son’s friends in the corridor, her expression darkened.

 _“You!_ You let this happen to him!” she snapped. 

The kids froze. She stormed toward them, seething with rage.

“Muh-Muh-Mrs. Kuh-Kuh-Kuh-Kaspbrak, we d-d-d-didn’t—” Bill began to stutter. 

“Don’t even start. My son would have been safe this summer if he didn’t start hanging out with all of you. If you think you’re ever going to see him again after this, oh, you’re _sorely_ mistaken,” she hissed, bending down to meet Bill’s eye level, “He doesn’t want to see any of you anymore.” 

A few of them had shrunk under her fiery gaze. Richie, on the other hand, glared back at her. While he still felt immensely guilty for not looking out for Eddie, he knew that Sonia placing a ban on him seeing his friends was a step too far.

He knew about all the anxieties Eddie faced because of his mother—his constant fretting over minor illnesses, his paralyzing fear over going into the sewers, his paranoia about getting caught being affection with Richie. It was all down to Sonia.

Richie took in a deep breath to calm himself for what he was about to do. Even though Eddie would probably accept his mother’s overbearingness for the rest of his life, Richie was sick of witnessing it. For a moment, there was tense silence in the corner. All that could be heard was the faint blaring of a television, and the ticking of a clock.

Then, Richie elbowed Sonia out of the way, knocking her against the wall. She stood there in paralyzed shock for a moment, stunned that any child could be so brazen (but then again, she always thought the Tozier boy wasn’t raised right). While she was too stunned to move, Richie bolted towards Eddie’s room. The rest of his friends shouted after him, some telling him to stop, but one or two encouraging him to keep going. 

The first thing his eyes were drawn to was Eddie’s cast. He had no idea how serious the injury was, as the cast completely covered his arm. He slowly looked upwards, and his eyes met Eddie’s. He took in how shocked he looked to see him. Similar to Sonia, there were dark circles under his eyes too, and Richie immediately began to worry about the kind of night he had. It was the first time he had ever been seriously injured, and Richie had no clue how he was coping with it. He felt a sudden urge to rewind, but before he could do so, he heard someone barreling down the corridor. 

 _“You leave him alone?! Do you hear me?!”_ Sonia screamed, clearly enraged.

“Oh fuck,” Richie muttered.

“Why are you here? I thought…” Eddie cut in.

“We’ll talk later!” 

With that, Richie glanced around the room and spotted the supply closet. He lunged toward it, and hid himself away. The storage closet was cramped, with a broom pressing into his leg. It was completely dark, and with every breath he took, he felt himself almost choke on dust. 

He heard Sonia storm into the room. His heart began to thud, not knowing how this would go. Since it was a small enough room, she quickly reached the conclusion about where he was. He held his breath as he heard Sonia’s footsteps come closer and closer. 

Then, he remembered he had a way out of this. Holding out his palm, he began to rewind. He squeezed his eyes shut, having no idea how far back he was going. In this little storage closet, there was no indication of time moving. He kept rewinding until he felt a sharp, searing pain in the back of his head. He then stopped, clutching his head, resisting the urge to cry out. 

Then, he heard the commotion just outside the door.

“Mrs. Kaspbrak, there really isn’t any need for him to stay overnight,” a doctor said calmly.

“What if his arm gets infected? You don’t know what could happen! My son is very delicate, and something like this could be catastrophic! I’m _not_ taking him home until I _know_ he’s going to be okay!” she shouted back at him.

It didn’t take him long to realize he had rewound just far back enough to witness Eddie’s arrival to the hospital. He realized at that moment that all his curiosity about how Eddie handled the night in hospital would be answered. _And hey, it gives me an opportunity to be with him,_ Richie thought, smiling to himself.

Richie could almost picture the scene outside the door. A doctor bewildered by Sonia’s behaviour, Sonia with her vessels ready to burst out of her neck, and Eddie, sitting on the bed, silently and miserably listening to all of this. It made Richie a little relieved that he wasn’t howling with pain, or anything of the sort, which meant that he was coping well. 

“Okay… okay. If you’re willing to pay extra fees, we’ll keep him in overnight, but I highly discourage—” the doctor began. 

“I don’t care about your discouragement. I’ll pay.”

There was a sound of feet shuffling. The door to the room opened and closed. For what felt like an eternity, Richie was merely listening to the beating of his own heart. Nervously, he began to fiddle with the plastic ring on his finger. He hated that he wasn’t out there with Eddie, but he knew that as long as Sonia was there, he couldn’t leave the supply closet. 

“Ma… did you call my friends yet?” Eddie asked softly. Richie pressed his ear against the door, curious to hear the conversation ahead. He hadn’t received any call, and he had to wonder if any of his friends did. 

“Eddie… I don’t think you should hang around with them anymore. Those bullies would have never tried to hurt you if you weren’t associated with them,” Sonia replied, her tone gentle and soothing.

Richie felt a wave of anger overtake him. He thought back to the day at Neibolt—that day, Henry’s intention to hurt Eddie had nothing to with his friends. He couldn’t believe Sonia had the nerve to shift the blame from the bullies onto his friends. He dug his nails into his palms, internally telling himself to just calm down and listen.

“No,” Eddie simply said. There was a pause before Sonia said anything.

“What did you just say?” she asked slowly.

“I said no. It wasn’t their fault I got hurt, it was Henry Bowers who hurt me. And I can’t explain it to you, but... me and my friends are doing something important. I can’t turn my back on them,” he said with more conviction.

On the other side of the door, Richie grinned. He felt pride swell in him, and once again understood how he ended up falling for Eddie. The fact that he was willing to stand up to his overbearing mother for the sake of his friends meant the world to Richie, and he was sure the other Losers would appreciate it too.

There was silence for a moment on the other side of the door. At least, that’s what Richie thought, until he pressed his ear harder against the door. He was able to make out the faint sounds of sobbing. He knew immediately that it was Sonia.

“Ma, please don’t…” Eddie whimpered.

Richie could hear a vulnerability in his voice. He knew that there was a chance Eddie could give into his upset mother’s wishes. Defying his mother was never his strong suit, and Richie knew that if he had backup support, it would make that task much easier.

His hand moved towards the doorknob, but then he stopped. _If I burst out there right now, Mrs. K is going to have a_ lot _of questions. Could I even answer them with anything that doesn’t sound insane?_ he thought, biting his lip. He sat back down on the floor and pulled Eddie’s lucky coin out of his pocket.

In the darkness of the supply closet, he wasn’t able to make out the patterns on the coin. Nevertheless, he turned it over and over in his hand, thinking of the two possible options before him. Closing his eyes, he shoved the coin back in his pocket, and didn’t touch the door handle.

_No way, I have to stay here. If I go out there, it could only make the whole situation worse. Good luck, Eds, I’m pretty sure you have to fight through this one on your own._

“Ma, stop!” Eddie cried out. Sonia was still weeping.

There was a sniffle, and then silence for a moment.

“Sweetie, I’m sorry, it’s just… this all just breaks my heart. You really don’t know what your friends are really like, do you?” she asked quietly.

Richie held his breath at that. He knew that Eddie should know better—the Losers had shared their most terrifying experiences with each other, and not only that, Richie had made it perfectly clear to him that he was the only one to ever see Richie at his most honest and vulnerable, instead of constantly hiding behind his humour. But, the hesitation in Eddie’s response worried Richie. 

“What do you mean?” he replied after a few long seconds had passed. 

“It’s just that… God, you’re such a delicate boy. Your friends are reckless, and yes, for now they want you to keep up with them. But soon… they’ll get tired of waiting around for you to catch up. Rowdy kids like them don’t associate with sweet boys like you for very long. When they leave you, I know it’ll break your heart, and honey, the last thing in the world I want is to see you that upset. That’s why I want you to stop seeing them, before it’s too late. But… it’ll be okay. _I_ will always be patient with you. I’ll always love and care for you. They won’t. Do you understand what I’m saying?” she said, slowly and gently.

“That’s… That’s not…” Eddie stammered, his voice wavering.

“I’m so sorry, but you have to know these things. It’ll be okay once they’re gone, I promise,” she soothed.

At that moment, the door to the room opened, and there was an unfamiliar voice.

“Mrs. Kaspbrak? Visiting hours are ending now. You can visit your son again from tomorrow at nine,” a nurse said.

Sonia said goodbye to Eddie. The bed creaked, there were footsteps towards the door, and finally, the door closed. Then, the sound of soft sobbing filled the room. It quickly became muffled, as if Eddie was trying to stifle the sound.

On the other side of the supply closet, Richie was seeing red. He always knew Sonia was overbearing, but he didn’t think it reached that extremity. The lies that she had just bombarded Eddie with swirled around his head. A part of him wanted to rewind and curse out Sonia until he was blue in the face.

But, he knew what he actually needed to do. In that hospital room, the boy he cared deeply for was alone, miserable, and under the influence of his mother’s manipulation. So, for Richie, Sonia was a second priority. As always, his top priority was Eddie.

Standing up, he opened the door of the supply closet. Outside the window, the sun had nearly completely set, causing the hospital room to be filled with darkened hues. In the hospital bed, Eddie had hidden his face in the blue knitted blanket that covered him, trembling. Richie felt a horrible taste in his mouth. _So, while I was at home reading a comic, Eddie was crying alone, believing we were all going to abandon him? Some friend I am._

Richie didn’t have much time to reflect on these thoughts, however. At the sound of the supply closet door opening, Eddie slowly raised his head, and jumped when he saw Richie. He grabbed his inhaler off the table and pressed down on it. He quickly wiped at his face.

“How did you—did you time travel?!” Eddie cried. 

Richie ignored Eddie’s shock, instead striding over to the bed. He pulled Eddie into a tight hug, making sure to be cautious of his broken arm. Eddie froze up for a moment, still shocked to have seen Richie jump out of the closet, but after a moment, he wrapped his good arm around him. He buried his head into his shoulders, continuing to cry. 

Richie didn’t do anything for a while, deciding to encourage Eddie to let out as much as he needed. After a few minutes had passed, Richie could feel the shaking in Eddie’s body subside. Gently, he rubbed his back. He pulled away slightly, so that they were seeing eye to eye, but still kept a firm hold on him. 

“Eddie, that stuff your mom said… you know it’s not true, right? None of that’s true. None of us would ever leave you. Ever,” Richie said sharply. Eddie looked down.

“You heard all that?” he gasped.

“Yeah. I thought about jumping out of the supply closet earlier, but I’m pretty sure your mom would’ve straight up murdered me then and there.”

“Well, then, thanks for staying put. I don’t think I could’ve dealt with you and my mom fighting,” Eddie said, and shuddered. Richie let out a sigh of relief, glad he made the right choice. 

“So… the stuff your mom said,” he said, trying to bring the conversation back on track.

“I… um, look, I’m sorry, but she’s right. Any of you could have fought off Bowers, but I’m too weak. That’s just going to keep dragging you all down. And you’ve put your health at risk so many times to save me now, you have to be getting sick of it,” Eddie mumbled.

Richie shook his head quickly, and then grabbed the sides of Eddie’s face, forcing him to look up.

“Okay, listen to me. First of all, none of us could have fought off Bowers on our own. That kid’s a freaking _psycho!_ You’re not weak—you scared off his goons all on your own, remember?! They were _scared_ of you, Eds!” Richie said, his voice full of admiration as he recounted the rock war.

Eddie smiled a little at that. Richie closed his eyes and sighed before moving onto his next point.

“Second, I don’t give a shit about my health. I’d rewind a billion times to save you, if I had to. None of us are ever going to be sick of you, and I’m definitely not gonna be. I kind of thought you knew that already,” Richie said, and taking one hand off Eddie’s face, he intertwined their fingers together. Eddie wiped his eyes. 

“You mean it?” he said quietly.

“One hundred percent. We’re never going to leave you, Eds. I’m always going to be here for you, because I… really like you,” Richie said, his voice becoming softer with the last words he spoke. Even in the growing darkness of the room, he could see Eddie was blushing. 

“I really like you too,” he mumbled back, equally embarrassed, but then he gave Richie’s hand a squeeze.

They sat there in silence for a moment. Richie gazed at Eddie, relieved to see he no longer looked so teary-eyed. However, he could still tell that Eddie was reflecting heavily on his mother’s words. Richie felt a pang of frustration, completely directed towards Sonia. He wished there was something he could say to make Eddie feel completely better, but he couldn’t think of anything. 

Then, his eyes fell to the plastic ring around his finger. The redness of the fake ruby was barely distinguishable in the darkness. An idea began to bud in his mind, and before he could think any more elaborately on it, he acted on it. In a quick motion, he took the ring off his finger, showing it to Eddie, who looked at it curiously.

“Okay, how about this? Anytime you feel alone, or worried that I’m ever going to leave you, you can look at this. You gave me your lucky charm, so…” Richie trailed off as he slid the ring onto Eddie’s pinky finger. “There we go! Now we both have something to remind each other of! Sweet bling, huh?”

Eddie fiddled with it, but looked at it with admiration. Then, he smiled over at Richie, looking a little bit more cheered up.

“You’re a real softie at heart, you know that? But… thanks,” he said.

Richie looked away, embarrassed once more. He contemplated refuting Eddie’s observation on how soft-hearted he was, but decided against it. Instead, he stood up from the bed, leaning down quickly to kiss Eddie on the forehead, and then began to walk towards the door.

“I’ll be back tomorrow morning with the others. Hang tight, okay?” Richie said. Eddie looked as if he had something important to say, and after a few seconds, finally spoke.

“Can you, um… stay a little longer?” he mumbled.

Richie raised his eyebrows slightly at that, but then smiled. He had nothing to rush home to. The night was still young, and he knew he would only sit restlessly at home if he left Eddie here alone.

“Of course. Can’t get enough of me, huh?” Richie teased. Eddie snorted at that.

He strolled over to the bed. Eddie budged over a little to make room. Richie curled up beside him, and wrapped an arm around him. They remained silent for some time, Richie deciding for once not to ruin the moment with any stupid comment. He listened to the sound of Eddie’s heartbeat, feeling completely calm. That calmness was interrupted, however, when Eddie suddenly stiffened up.

“Can I say something? It’s about Bowers,” he blurted out. 

“Sure thing. I can’t think of a topic more romantic than Bowers,” Richie replied sarcastically, but was now listening intently. 

“I think that he’s super pissed about the rock fight. He probably knows now that the best way to get revenge on us is hurting us one by one, and… well, if we’re all injured, we’re not going to be able to fight Pennywise. We can’t let that happen, right? I know it’s scary, but we have to fight It,” Eddie said. 

“Right... So, what’re you suggesting? We all gang up and throw more rocks at Henry?” Richie said, and shrugged. “It’s worked twice for me now.”

“No, no, not that. I was just thinking, we should go fight It before Henry gets in everyone’s way.”

“Okay. How soon are you thinking, Eds?”

There was a pause.

“Tomorrow.”

Richie froze up at that. He looked down at Eddie. He saw that his timidity from earlier had been replaced. Now, he had a look of steel resolution, like he was absolutely willing to fight It, broken arm and all. Seeing how determined he was made Richie feel calmer. His admiration for Eddie only grew, knowing his bravery was something to be admired.

“You know what? Sure. Let’s do it. Let’s go kill a clown tomorrow. I’m sure the others will be on board, especially Bill. He’s been itching to do this for ages now,” Richie replied.

Eddie let out a shaky sigh. Richie couldn’t tell if he was relieved or feeling more scared now, knowing that their fight against It was really going to happen. All that Richie knew was his own terror that he felt. Even though he had the advantage of time travel on his side, he still knew that there was a high possibility he would witness horrible things tomorrow. He thought back on the lightning strike that killed Bill, Henry with his switchblade, and Eddie pulling his bloodied hand out of the photo album. _Please fucking God don’t let it get worse than any of that. Please._

Then, Eddie pulled Richie in tighter, laying his head in the crook of his arm. In that instant, Richie was able to briefly push aside all fearsome thoughts about the following day. He gazed down at the boy he had become so affectionate about, holding him just as close. While the fear of the unknown ahead haunted them both, they were content in that moment. Richie felt the urge to pause time and hold it there for eternity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I really didn't intend for the chapter to be that long! Just to warn, the next couple of chapters are going to be pretty dark, so be cautious! I hope you enjoyed this softer interlude, though, and please please leave feedback! Thank you for reading!


	10. Sewers

 

Richie stayed with Eddie until he fell asleep, and then he made his own way home late into the night. The next morning, he was even more exhausted than before. Once again, his father asked if he was awake, but this time, there was no prize to be found in the cereal. Richie smiled to himself at that, thinking about what he had given Eddie. And, once again, there was the frantic knocking on the door.

This time, he got up by himself. When he opened the door, he had familiarized himself with the distressed looks on his friends’ faces. He could tell what Bill was about to say, but held up a hand to interrupt him. 

“I know about Eddie. We need to go get him right now,” he said firmly.

“What? How do you know?” Stan asked, and then rolled his eyes at his own question. “Right, of course you rewound.”

With that, Richie grabbed his own bike, and began to pedal as fast as he could towards the hospital with the others. Beverly caught up to his pace, feet pedaling madly as well. 

“So, how far back did you go?” she asked. 

“Last night. And, we talked about something really important that we really need to share with you guys,” he replied. 

She looked curious at that, but when she looked over her shoulder at the others, who were trailing behind, she knew that Richie would only wait until they could all talk as a group. So, they kept pedaling until they reached the hospital’s exterior once more.

Richie let his bike fall into the grass, and waited for the others to join him. Beverly stood by his side, waiting as well. Eventually, the others joined, curious as to why Richie hadn’t rushed into the hospital to meet Eddie again.

“Okay, so, me and Eddie were talking last night, and he thinks that Bowers is going to try and hurt us all one by one. Obviously if we’re all injured, we’re going to be useless up against Pennywise, right? He was thinking that we need to act fast before Bowers gets us all first, so we need to go fight It as soon as possible,” he explained.

“How soon are we talking…?” Ben asked apprehensively.

“Today,” Richie said with a sigh.

There was silence amongst the group for a moment. Stan hugged himself, already terrified at the idea of coming face to face with the thing that terrorized him at the Standpipe. None of them looked particularly happy, and Richie felt a pang of fear that he would have to tell Eddie that they’d have to hold off. But then, Bill spoke. 

“L-L-L-Let’s do i-i-i-it,” he said with resolve.

The others nodded, and Richie felt immense relief that they would act against It before Bowers took them all out. However, that relief was quickly replaced by fear—he would have to face It again, the thing that had been constantly telling him that he couldn’t change anything. He was worried about how that might come to fruition today, and despite his powers, he might not be able to help anyone. 

“Stuh-Stuh-Stan, go g-g-g-get Muh-Muh-Muh-Muh-Mr. Peterson a-a-a-and tuh-tuh-tell him we’re ruh-ruh-ready,” he instructed, and then turned to Beverly, “D-D-D-Do you have the buh-buh-buh-bullets?”

She reached into her pockets. She pulled a slingshot out of her left pocket, and three wonky silver pellets out of her right pocket. Richie furrowed his brows with confusion as to why she had them, but then remembered that the others had tested out who had the best aim while he and Eddie went to convince Mr. Peterson to come fight It. _Damn, good on you, Bev,_ he thought, impressed. 

Stan hopped on his bike, gaining his balance first, and then rode in the direction of the school. Mike got on his too, but before he could go, Bill laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Whuh-Whuh-Where a-a-a-are you going?” he asked.

“I need to borrow something off my dad. I’ll be back soon, promise. You guys go get Eddie, alright?” he said, and took off as well.

The four remaining Losers looked at each other for a moment, and then strode towards the hospital. Richie led them down the corridor that Eddie was residing on, but froze when, once again, he saw somebody leave his room. He groaned loudly upon seeing it was Sonia. The others stopped in their tracks too. 

However, when Sonia turned towards them, Richie was stunned to see that she had a defeated look on her face. When she made eye contact with them, she didn’t start yelling at them, as she did the previous day. Instead, she walked past them, briefly turning back.

“Go ahead. You horrible children have corrupted my child,” she said, but with no source of emotion in her voice.

Richie raised his eyebrows. He wondered exactly what happened between Eddie and his mother when she came to visit him that morning. But, he decided not to take Sonia’s rare display of passiveness for granted, and brushed past her. Beverly, Bill, and Ben quickly followed.

In the hospital room, Eddie was no longer lying down in the bed. He was standing there, his broken arm held close to his chest. His eyes brightened when he looked at Richie, and then he grinned at the rest of his friends.

“Hey, how are you doing?” Beverly asked with concern. 

“Been better, but I’m ready to get out of here now. Did you tell them what I told you, Richie?” he said.

“Yup, we’re all ready to go when you are,” Richie replied with a nod, and then jerked his thumb back towards the door. “So… what’s up with your mom?”

Eddie looked away, almost embarrassed. He hesitated before replying, fidgeting a little with the ring on his finger. 

“I, uh… kind of told her that I’d take you guys any day over her and that she needed to accept that,” he mumbled.

Richie was surprised at this turn of events. When he left Eddie last night, he was still heavily concerned that Eddie still believed, on some level, what his mother had told him. But, clearly something he said or done must have gotten through to him, which made him feel great. 

Bill began to explain that Stan was on his way to get Mr. Peterson, and Mike had left to retrieve something from home. As he talked, they began to walk towards the door. Once they left the room, Sonia looked glumly at her son, hoping that he would feel some sympathy for her. He spared her a quick glance, showing no particular emotion, before turning his attention back to Bill. 

Richie grinned at him, delighted to see that he had begun to stand up for himself. Eddie smiled back shyly. As the two shared a look, Beverly watched them with amusement, wondering how subtle they thought they were. However, all their attention was drawn back to Bill, who was stammering badly on a particular word. Eddie frowned and held up a hand to cut him off.

“Bill, I know that doing this is important to you, so… if you don’t feel now is the right time, or that you’re ready yet, I’ll understand,” he said.

“I-I-I’ve been wuh-wuh-wuh-wanting t-t-t-to kuh-kuh-kill I-I-I-It f-f-f-for a-a-a-a long tuh-tuh-time,” Bill said sternly. “N-N-N-No more wuh-wuh-waiting.”

As he said this, they were leaving the hospital. There was a moment of silence amongst the five friends, but they all knew that that today was the day to finally confront It as a group. 

Richie wanted to claim he was feeling calm and collected, especially with the advantage of time travel on his side. However, he knew that wasn’t the case. He thought of the potential horrible things he would have to witness, and didn’t know how much more of that his mind could take. He began to realize just how terrified he was as he placed his hands on the handle bars of his bike and noticed that they were trembling badly.

He took a few deep breaths to try and calm himself, relieved to hear that Bill, Ben, and Beverly were caught up in their own conversation, and wouldn’t witness how scared he was. Then, however, he felt a hand on top of his own. He knew immediately who it was from the ring wrapped around one pinky, and looked up at Eddie.

“I know you’re scared, but we can get through this together, can’t we?” Eddie comforted him. 

“Yeah… yeah, sure we can. Hey, since when am I the one scared about everything and you’re the cool, suave one?” Riche asked.

“Are you implying you were ever cool and suave?” he teased, wrinkling his nose with a smile.

“Shut up and get on, Kaspbrak.”

With that, Richie moved a bit forward on his seat, making room for Eddie, already knowing he didn’t have his bike with him, since he had been brought to the hospital. Eddie walked around and hopped on. He wrapped his good arm tightly around Richie’s waist with no hesitation, but slowly and carefully positioned his broken arm in a way that would keep him secure. 

Then, he pressed his cheek against Richie’s back, letting out a content sigh. The other three were ready to start making their way towards the Barrens, but Richie took a moment to appreciate the sense of calmness that Eddie seemed to naturally bring him. They sat there for a brief, but happy minute, before Bill interrupted them.

“Guh-Guh-Guys? I-I-I think E-E-Eddie wuh-wuh-would huh-have more r-r-r-room o-o-on Suh-Suh-Silver,” he said, indicating his own bike.

“Hey, I think they’re fitting together nicely over there,” Beverly said, smirking and raising her eyebrows at Ben, who held back a laugh. Bill shrugged. 

“O-O-Okay. Whuh-Whatever, let’s guh-guh-guh-go already,” he said, and took off down the path.

Bill was the furthest ahead, with Ben and Beverly keeping a similar pace to each other. They kept their bikes close together, heads leaned toward each other as they were lost in their own private conversation. Richie trailed the furthest behind, as he was particularly cautious of taking care of Eddie. They were silent for a while before Eddie broke the silence.

“Richie, can I ask you something?” he said quietly.

“Shoot,” Richie said.

“Can you keep the rewinding to a minimum when we’re in the sewers? I know you want to prevent every little bad thing, but… I don’t want to see you cause physical harm to yourself. Okay?” he requested. Richie paused for a moment to reflect on Eddie’s words before responding.

“Well, for your sake, fine. But if anything bad happens to you, I’m going to rewind as often as I need to.”

“I guess I can’t really stop you, but… just be careful, okay?”

“Pfft, when am I ever _not_ careful—”

 _“Watch out!”_ Eddie suddenly screamed, yanking his waist to the left to indicate the direction to veer in.

They were headed right for a pothole in the middle of the road. Richie yelped and veered to the left unsteadily, and the bike began to wobble dangerously for a moment. Eddie held his breath, afraid of what would happen if he fell and landed on his bad arm. Then, Richie regained his balance, and they kept on biking. 

“You were saying?” Eddie said sharply.

The other three had started paying attention as soon as Eddie started screaming at Richie to look out, amused at their dramatic antics. For a brief moment, as they pedalled towards the unknown that awaited them, they were finally allowed a slight bit of peace and happiness again. Richie and Eddie quickly forgot about their bickering, instead giving into the lighter atmosphere that had overtaken the group, and Eddie pressed his face against Richie’s back once more, tightening his hold on him. 

As they cycled, they had no idea that three boys watched them from the bushes, awaiting their opportunity to seek revenge for being brutally beaten in the rock war that seemed to have taken place a lifetime ago.  

* * *

 

By the time they reached the large concrete tunnel that led into the sewers, Mike, Stan, and Mr. Peterson had made it back. The first thing that everyone noticed when they arrived was the strange looking weapon that Mike was holding.

“What’s that?” Ben asked. Mike held it up for everyone else to see.

“It’s a captive bolt pistol. Dad uses it for work, but he said he’d let me borrow it today as long as I’m careful. I know we already got Beverly’s slingshot, and Richie’s… uh, secret weapon, but it’s always good to have an extra backup, right?” he said.

“Guh-Guh-Good thinking, Muh-Muh-Mike,” Bill said.

Mike smiled at that. Then, he handed the pistol over to Bill, who looked at him in confusion for a moment. But, then he remembered that the other Losers saw him as a leader figure, and would rely on him for help if the worst came to be. With that, he accepted the pistol. 

“If you kids don’t mind me asking, _what_ exactly do you mean by Richie’s secret weapon?” Mr. Peterson asked, furrowing his brows.

The kids looked at each other, having briefly forgotten that someone outside their club was here. Of course, Mr. Peterson would be a necessity in the upcoming fight, but he still wasn’t a part of the group. Panicking internally, the others looked to Richie to explain.

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” Richie said, doing his best movie villain voice. 

“Yikes, okay, forget I asked!” Mr. Peterson exclaimed, holding up his hands in defense.

Bill looked around at the seven who stood before him. He had no idea how the fight ahead was going to go, but all he knew was that if this ended with solving the mystery of his brother’s disappearance and reuniting with him once and for all, he would be satisfied. _This has to end. Now,_ he thought. He faced the others.

“I-I-Is everyone ruh-ready?” he asked.

Everyone nodded. Richie took in a shaky breath, trying not to think of what was ahead. Eddie glanced around quickly at the others, but saw that they were facing the concrete tunnel ahead. Quickly, he reached down and gave Richie’s hand a reassuring squeeze. Richie smiled gratefully at him and then they looked ahead into the sewers. Then, with shaky steps, they finally began to trudge into It’s residing. 

The nauseating smells hit them all quickly, as it reeked all around them from the moment they stepped in. Eddie’s breath became quick, and he spent mere seconds in the sewers before he pulled out his inhaler and triggered a blast. 

“I know it’s gross, but we have to power through,” Mike shouted back to the others from the top of the group, where he was walking with Bill.

They walked in silence, in contemplation of what was ahead, and also thinking of when It would emerge. While Richie was thinking, he suddenly heard a stumble beside him, followed by a panicked scream.

 _No, no, no!_ he thought, and turned his head quickly. He felt relief wash over him when he saw that Eddie had just tripped and fallen. He wasn’t hurt in any way—he just reacted badly to being submerged in the sewer water, possibly thinking of all the possible illnesses he could contract from being down here too long.

Still, Richie didn’t underestimate how much such a thing scared Eddie. He pulled him up as quickly as he could, keeping a gentle hold on him as he recovered from the shock of it. He stroked his hair, and Eddie slowly began to calm with the soothing motion 

The others were still walking ahead, except for Mr. Peterson, who had noticed the commotion. He strode back over to the two boys, kneeling down to their level. Reaching out, he touched Eddie’s shoulder. 

“Are you okay? That sounded like you got hurt, and your arm… God, you boys need to be careful down here. That break looks so awful,” he said, covering his mouth with one hand at the sight of Eddie’s arm wrapped in a cast.

However, the attention didn’t stay on Eddie for long. From what sounded like a distant horizon, a voice echoed, and it was enough to cause all the Losers to stop in their tracks.

“Beverly, you get your sorry ass home right _now!_ If you disobey me, girl, there’ll be hell to pay!” the voice of Beverly’s dad seemed to roar throughout the entirety of the sewers.

Beverly’s knees buckled, and she collapsed into the water, beginning to sob. Ben looked around at the others helplessly, but before they could suggest anything, he pulled her up, holding her by the shoulders.

“That’s not him! That’s… That’s It! And I don’t care if it’s him or It, I’m not going to let them do anything to you, not now, or ever again!” he cried, his voice full of desperation.

Beverly continued to sob, but leant into him. With one arm around her shoulder, he began to stride down with more purpose, determined to defeat the thing that had caused so much upset for Beverly.

At that moment, Richie looked down at Eddie, who he still kept a protective arm around. _Yeah, I think I definitely understand Ben a lot more now than I did before,_ he thought. 

“I-I-It’s down this wuh-wuh-way! That wuh-wuh-was I-I-It pruh-pruh-pretending t-t-t-to be Buh-Buh-Buh-Beverly’s fuh-fuh-father!” Bill cried.

He rushed past both Ben and Beverly, his feet splashing in the greywater. Stan shook his head at Mike, seeing that this group was quickly disintegrating. They were far more vulnerable than they believed themselves to be, which caused Stan to worry about what would happen when they actually met It in its full force. 

“Bill, _wait!_ It’s not safe to go there alone!” Mr. Peterson cried, taking after him.

Then, before anyone could react to Mr. Peterson running towards Bill, there were distant splashes from behind. They sounded a good few miles off, but it was audible enough to let them know that they weren’t alone in the sewers. 

“Gonna get you, you little turds!” the voice of Victor Criss belted.

The remaining Losers looked at each other, panicked. Somehow, they knew that wasn’t one of It’s imitations. Eddie’s suspicions about the bullies coming out in full force to get revenge were confirmed—they would follow them to the depths of the earth to get revenge if they had to.

“Now? _Really?!”_ Stan snapped.

Mike looked down the sewer tunnel and then cupped his hands around his mouth to make a pseudo-megaphone.

 _“Mr. Peterson!_ Some kids followed us in! They can’t be in here, or… or God knows what’ll happen!” he called out.

That was enough to cause Mr. Peterson, who was merely a silhouette at this point, to freeze. Then, he strode back towards the Losers. Mike pointed in the direction Victor’s voice had come from. Torn, Mr. Peterson looked in the direction Bill ran, and in the direction Mike was pointing. Then, he nodded.

“Okay. We can’t let any other kids get hurt. I’ll take care of it, you kids just make sure Bill doesn’t do anything reckless,” he said and took off down the other direction.

 _“Gonna get youuuuu!”_ Belch squealed with delight.

The Losers rolled their eyes, considering Henry’s goons a secondary problem in that moment. Instead, they ran after Bill, listening closely for the sounds of distant splashes up ahead. They took winding turns throughout the tunnels, until finally, a similar figure came into view.

Bill was still running, tightly holding Mike’s pistol with one hand. He sounded out of breath, but his friends knew that he would run for miles if it meant finding out what happened to Georgie. Stan surpassed the others, grabbed Bill by the shoulder, and turned him around.

“What the hell are you thinking?! You could’ve gotten yourself killed! I know you have that gun, but we need all the help we can get. You were really going to face It alone, even though we have Beverly and Richie here to fight too? _Really,_ Bill?!” he scolded. 

Bill wasn’t listening, though. He had craned his head and pointed to the east. Eddie sharply took in a breath, and squeezed Richie’s hand. That’s when Richie remembered; Eddie always had a good sense of direction, and if he was getting nervous here, they must be within spitting distance to It’s lair. Richie firmly squeezed Eddie’s hand back. 

“It’s over there, isn’t it, Bill? Where It lives,” Richie said.

“Y-Y-Yeah. I-I-I don’t cuh-cuh-care i-i-if y-y-you cuh-cuh-come o-o-or not, b-b-but I-I’m guh-guh-going i-i-i-in,” Bill said, trying to sound stern, but couldn’t keep the shakiness out of his voice. 

“Are you serious? Didn’t you hear a word Stan said? We’re with you ‘til the end,” Beverly interjected.

Nodding, Bill strode down the east tunnel. From the moment they turned, Richie knew something was different. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, but it wasn’t anything positive or hopeful. Instead, he felt a sense of dread build up in his stomach.

_Mr. Peterson should be here. Bev’s shots might miss. Mike’s gun mightn’t work. I can’t change anything. It said that to me, it said—_

“Richie, don’t freak out, please. Nothing bad’s going to happen. I’m going to protect you, remember?” Eddie said, trying to sound confident and heroic, but sounding equally as nervous.

“Y-Yeah, I remember,” Richie mumbled, not even trying to sound calm.

“Seriously, though, I’m determined to make it out of here. There’s something important I have to say to you, and I’m only doing that if we get out.”

Richie looked at him curiously, but Eddie refused to elaborate. _Okay, let’s make that my driving motive to kill this fucking clown,_ he thought as they strode toward the light. Before they came to the end of the tunnel, Richie looked around at all his friends.

Beverly was taking deep, shaky breaths, possibly to calm herself after the experience with her father’s voice. She closed her eyes, and then clutched Ben’s wrist. He didn’t react in an awkward way as he would have previously done, but instead pulled her closer, and rubbed her arm in a comforting gesture. Stan was now pale, but he kept his hands in tight fists, scared but ready to face whatever was ahead. Mike was nervously looking at Bill’s back, terrified of what he was willing to do.

Then, they finally reached the end of the tunnel. What was ahead was built differently. Instead of the usual circular entrance to more tunnels, there was, instead, an arched doorway built out of gray bricks. The bricks had built up grime and moss in its cracks, but the doorway showed no signs of collapsing.

The room ahead was vast, and seemed to be as big as the entirety of Derry. There were various ivory objects scattered all around the edges of the room. Eddie squinted to get a better look, and then held back a scream when he realized they were bones. Richie let out a terrified whimper, completely abandoning all intentions of putting on a calm façade.

The room was sparse. Aside from the bones, it appeared to be completely empty, except for one small lump in the middle of the room. From here, it was impossible to make out what it was—it was merely a silhouette of something unidentifiable.

“We need to be careful, Bill,” Stan warned, seeing the desperate look in Bill’s eyes.

However, that warning was completely disregarded. Bill ran into the room. The others let out a cry and sprinted after him, still far behind. As Bill proceeded further into the room, and closer to the object, he suddenly began to slow. His steps became robotic, and almost with ease, he dropped the captive bolt pistol to the ground. The clatter reverberated around the room. He continued slowly and shakily towards the object.

“Bill, you shouldn’t leave that lying around,” Mike said, but the panic in his voice wasn’t so much directed at the pistol being dropped, but at Bill’s sudden change. 

“Juh… Juh… Juh… Juh…” Bill stuttered, unable to say the one word he needed to.

“Oh god… no, no…” Beverly whimpered, immediately realizing what it was.

Bill ran towards the object. As the Losers came closer, they all felt as if their hearts had stopped. The object in the middle of the room was no object; it was a person. A child, clad in a yellow rain slicker. Georgie Denbrough. Only, his face was so horribly pale, the same colour as the bones that decorated the room. In the space his left arm should have been, there was only a bloody stump.

Letting out a shuddering gasp, Bill collapsed to his knees. He scooped the body of his little brother into his arms, cradling him close. Richie stood over him, and saw that Georgie’s eyes were closed, and his mouth was slightly ajar. Even though his death had clearly been horrible, even to those who hadn’t witnessed it personally, his peaceful expression was some bit of comfort.

This was no comfort to Bill, though. He hugged Georgie’s lifeless body as tight as he could, and began to cry. Tears fell onto Georgie’s rain slicker. His whole body was shaking with grief. Since October, the only thing that had comforted him was the idea that Georgie wasn’t dead, merely missing. And now, that illusion was destroyed.

“I-I-I-I… I cuh-cuh-cuh-cuh-couldn’t… I-I-I cuh-couldn’t huh-huh-huh-help him…” he sobbed.

Richie knelt down beside Bill, not sure what to do. A part of him wanted to pull him into a comforting hug, but another part of him refused to let him do that. The horrible feeling of being responsible for letting Georgie die rose in his chest again. Not only that, he knew exactly what had happened to Georgie, but hid it from Bill. 

 _Would he be suffering so much if I had told him the truth?_ Richie thought, trembling. He stared down at the ground, feeling tears well up in his own eyes. Once again, that feeling of time powers being wasted on him overwhelmed him. He couldn’t alleviate his friend’s suffering, and that hurt more than anything else. As tears clouded his vision, he reached underneath his glasses, beginning to wipe his eyes, when he heard gasps from the others. 

“No, no, _no!”_ Eddie cried.

“What are you doing?! You can’t—” Mike yelled.

Richie looked up. There was something silver pressed against the back of Bill’s head—the captive bolt pistol. Bill barely seemed to notice, as there was a defeated look in his eyes. Then, before Richie could react, a shot from the pistol was fired. The bolt shot directly through Bill’s forehead. He gave one last gasp, and collapsed over Georgie’s body, suddenly motionless.

The others were screaming. For Richie, everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. The first thing he saw after witnessing Bill get shot was the panicked look in Eddie’s eyes. Tears were now streaming down his face, and numbly, Richie registered it was due to what just happened. Slowly, he held out his palm, ready to reverse. _No way. Nobody’s dying down here._

But, he froze.

He looked at the pistol once more. His eyes trailed upwards—to the hand that held it, to the sleeve, to the shoulder, to the neck, to the face. And he couldn’t rewind. His whole body seemed to come to a stop. All he could do was stare. 

All he could do was stare at Mr. Peterson.

The kind, concerned look that so often graced his face was gone. Instead, he was looking down at the kids with a spine-chilling coldness. He had no emotional reaction to murdering Bill at all. But, that wasn’t the worst part. Not by far.

The worst part was that his eyes were no longer that warm green colour. Now, they were yellow. The eyes of the leper Eddie had discussed. The eyes of Pennywise. The eyes of It. 

_No. No. Mr. Peterson is… is…_

The Losers’ screams seemed to be coming from a long distance away. Richie simply stared at Mr. Peterson. The numb sensation running throughout his entire body seemed to be the only thing keeping him from going utterly insane. He still remained in the same position, palm out, ready to rewind, but he felt as if he would never move again. He remained still as Mr. Peterson kneeled down. 

“Oh, no. You’re not going back in time anymore,” it said. There was no doubting it, he was listening to It’s voice. It was garbled in a mixture of Pennywise’s voice and his own soothing teacher’s voice. 

Then, Mr. Peterson held his palm in front of Richie’s eyes. The last thing Richie registered was Eddie screaming his name in terror before the world went black, and unconsciousness took over.


	11. Polarize

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning for distressing scenes ahead! I tried not to make anything too overly graphic or violent, but just be cautious proceeding!

 

In that eventful summer, Richie Tozier was only a child. In any other town, children would be nurtured and protected from any evil that may have lurked. They were meant to be treated with kindness and consideration. Any normal child in any normal town would have just lived their summer to the full, not worrying about shapeshifting entities or incomprehensible time traveling abilities. 

As Richie stirred, he briefly forgot what he had went through. In that semi-unconscious state, he thought he might have just fallen asleep in the Barrens, and once he fully woke up, he and his friends would just have a normal day.

But, as he came to his senses, everything seemed to rush back to him at once. Bill dying. Mr. Peterson revealing himself to be one of It’s forms. He opened his eyes wide with a terrified gasp, but when he went to sit up, he found himself unable to move.

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Eddie, who let out a soft gasp upon seeing Richie finally wake up. His face was pale, and his eyes full of fear. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it, unsure of where to even begin. Then, as Richie’s eyes trailed down, he saw that Eddie’s one working hand and legs were bound together by a web-like material. Richie knew immediately that this was It’s doing, and moved to help him, but was stopped.

He realized that there was some prickly mesh material, which must have been the same web-like material like Eddie’s. It had completely covered his hands, which were tied against his back. The mesh material seemed to be stuck to the floor, binding him in place. He tried to inch his hands, but found the material to be thick and immoveable.

Distantly, he heard someone screaming. He raised his head in the direction of the direction of the screaming. The person was only identifiable by their clothing, and Richie realized it was Stan. His head was completely covered in the web. His entire body was convulsing, and often twitched in ways, as if to ward off something. The screams made him sound like he was in agony, and Richie’s heart fell. _What the hell are you going through, Stan?_ he thought.

But, his attention was drawn away from the screams, which seemed to take up the whole room. Instead, he was drawn by a nearby sobbing sound. He looked over and saw Beverly. Tears streamed down her face. She was also bound to the floor, but made no effort to move. Once her eyes met Richie’s, she began to sob harder, which made it hard to hear what she finally said to him. 

“Richie… I… th-they’re all…” Beverly cried, but couldn’t bring herself to finish.

“What’re you talking about, Bev?” Richie coaxed her into continuing.

“Ben and Mike… they’re… I-I can’t,” she sobbed, and then, after taking a shaky breath, she exclaimed, _“You have to rewind!”_

Upon hearing Ben and Mike’s names mentioned, he realized that he hadn’t spotted them amongst his friends. Richie looked into Eddie’s eyes, hoping that he would explain what Beverly was talking about, in the hopes that his worst fears wouldn’t be confirmed. However, when he saw Eddie look away, his eyes filling with tears too, Richie realized he didn’t need an explanation.

Instead, he craned to look over his shoulder. The closest by was Bill, who was still collapsed over Georgie’s body. As his eyes trailed forward, he felt like he had been kicked in the chest by what he saw. He first saw Ben, lying on his back, utterly still. His skin was horribly pale. Even from where he was lying, Richie could see that there was a bolt sticking into his chest.

Holding in his breath, Richie lifted his head to see further back. Closer to the wall of the lair, Mike was lying on his side, his right arm hooked over his head. Just like Bill and Ben, he was completely still. The gleam of a bolt shone from the side of his head. His eyes were open wide, possibly with the last-moment shock of being shot, or, as Richie suspected, his eyes had been widened in terror up until the moment of his death.

Richie felt a wave of grief and nausea overtake him all at once. Three of his friends were dead, and he couldn’t help but completely blame himself. _No, no, no, this can’t be happening. Because I made the stupid decision to ask Mr. Peterson to come with us instead of Mike’s dad. I let It win just because of my own dumb decision and it’s too late to change it,_ he thought. 

_But… is it really too late?_

He looked back at Beverly, who was still staring at him with wide eyes and a desperate gaze. His heart hurt, thinking of what Eddie and Beverly had experienced while he had been unconscious. Did they have to watch Ben and Mike die too? He looked over at Stan again, who was still screaming from whatever he was experiencing under the webbing, and wondered if he had been granted the mercy of not witnessing it. 

Looking into her eyes, he knew what she wanted him to do. And, of course, this was the kind of scenario he desperately wanted to reverse on, even if the memory of it would stick with him forever. _I can fix all this,_ he told himself. Before he decided to start rewinding, he looked over at Eddie. 

“You need to do it,” he whispered.

Richie already knew he would have done it anyway, but hearing Eddie encourage him to use his time powers for a change drove home that this was all real. It had all happened, and he was the only one who could reverse it. 

He attempted to move his hand, but it didn’t budge under the web. He pulled with a little more force, but the web remained completely intact. Eventually, he tried to yank his hand out, but it quickly became clear that the web was a much stronger material than a usual spider’s web. He felt panic rising in his chest, but quickly tried to calm himself. _I can do this without the exact hand movement._

He tried to focus all his energy into his hand, as he always did when rewinding. However, nothing happened. Everything in front of him remained the same. He was still staring into Eddie’s wide, teary eyes, watching him expectantly. From a distance, he could still hear Beverly’s sobbing, and Stan’s agonized screams. Realizing that there was nothing he could do, he felt tears prick his own eyes.

“I can’t change anything,” he simply said, remembering It’s words to him on several occasions.

With that, he finally broke down. He began to cry, feeling utterly humiliated, as he wasn’t even able to hide his face, due to his bound hands. Eddie watched on with a sorrowful look, and budged closer to him.

“Richie…” he said, and stopped, as if to contemplate saying more. 

But, Eddie didn’t have a chance to continue to speak. Beverly suddenly let out a terrified cry. Richie and Eddie looked over at her. She was staring at something in one of the various doorways leading to the lair. Following her eyes, they saw that there was a tall, shrouded figure. It stepped out of the shadows, and both boys felt their breath catch in their throat.

Pennywise stood there, holding the captive bolt pistol. It regarded Ben and Mike with slight disinterest, as the euphoria he gained from those killings was already wearing off. But, as it looked around at the four children who remained alive, its disinterested expression quickly changed as a spine-chilling grin, with too many teeth on display, emerged.

“Did you have a nice long rest?” it asked.

There was silence amongst the Losers, except for Stan, who didn’t even know Pennywise had reentered the lair. Beverly was now biting down hard on her lip to prevent herself from making any further noise. Richie and Eddie were staring at each other, both trying to calm the other down. 

Pennywise looked around at all of them for a moment and chuckled. It knew it had defeated them. They no longer had the energy to even attempt to fight back. A part of the monster wanted to savour this moment for as long as it could, but another part of him wanted to move on to the final event, which it had been waiting so long for.

Eagerly, it strode towards Beverly, its shoes stomping loudly against the concrete, which then echoed around the lair. She raised her head upon hearing it approach. For a moment, there was utter terror in her eyes, but as it came closer, the terror was replaced with a burning hatred that made Richie shudder.

Pennywise, on the other hand, wasn’t intimidated. It laughed and knelt down. It dangled the gun for a moment, looking at it briefly before pressing it against Beverly’s temple. She continued glaring at him, but it was impossible to miss how much she was trembling.

“Oh, come on, Bevvie. I can see you want to say something. Tell your old friend already!” Pennywise said, pouting at her.

“Get fucked,” she snarled, and spat in its face.

In a split second, she looked over to Richie with a determined look in her eyes, and although it was barely perceptible, she gave him a brief, sharp nod. _There’s no way she thinks I can still rewind, can she?_ he thought, but judging by the look in her eyes, she was convinced that this wasn’t the end. 

But, he didn’t have much time to contemplate on this. There was a sudden, sickening clamping sound. The bolt went straight through the side Beverly’s head, and she knew no more. Stan’s screams remained continuous, making it clear that whatever horrible thing he was experiencing was different to that of the surviving Losers.

Eddie let out a terrified scream upon hearing the shot, even though he wasn’t able to see Beverly from where he was positioned. Richie felt his heart palpitating, and he found himself thinking back on Beverly’s light playfulness that summer, and now, she was just another statistic in the kids who received gruesome ends in Derry.

Nearly all of them were just statistics now. Even though they were braver than the adults of Derry for finally confronting the evil of the town, they still met horrible ends, which Richie was unable to reverse. _This is all my fault,_ he thought, looking over at the monster who had previously manifested itself in the form of Mr. Peterson. 

Then, Pennywise began to slowly walk over to Richie and Eddie. Its steps were slow and robotic, as if it were dragging out the experience to increase their dread. Eddie inched closer to Richie until their foreheads were touching. While Richie was still full of fear and self-hatred, being closer to Eddie brought a familiar soothing comfort. However, he nervously realized that Eddie’s breath was coming up short, and there was no possible way he could retrieve his inhaler.

“Richie, I need to tell you something because I think we’re going to die here and now,” Eddie said in a panicked rush, his breath becoming wheezier by the minute.

Richie couldn’t find the words to reply, as he was still reeling from what he had witnessed, as well as the fact that he could hear It getting closer and closer. Eddie, still trembling, finally spoke.

“The thing is, I think I… I…” Eddie said, but then his breath caught in his throat, unable to get any more words out. 

At first, Richie thought it was because of his asthma, but then he saw the pistol that was held against Eddie’s head. He was now trembling in fear, looking at Richie with wide, helpless eyes. He opened his mouth, struggling to breathe. Before he could manage to take in one more breath, Pennywise pulled down on the trigger once more, and that sickening clamping sound reverberated again.

Droplets of blood splattered onto Richie’s face. He stared in disbelief at Eddie’s lifeless body. Seeing him die from a distance had been traumatizing enough, but seeing it happen right beside him, unable to protect him in any way, was too horrible to comprehend. The boy he cared so deeply for was dead, and there was no way he knew how to rewind with his hands tied. He let out an agonized moan, no longer attempting to hold back his tears. _I’m so sorry, I’m so so sorry._

“Finally just the two of us, Richie. I’ve been waiting to talk to you alone for so long,” Pennywise said, leaning down and grinning at him.

Richie glanced over at Stan, who was still lost in his own terror. He didn’t want to mention Stan being alive to Pennywise, in case, by some miracle, the clown had forgotten about him. However, Pennywise caught his quick glance, and cackled to itself. 

“Oh, don’t you worry about him. He’s experiencing a terror so unspeakable that it would be pointless to worry about him right now. Just me and you, Rich!” it said, grinning.

Then, it stroked its chin in contemplation. It shook its head quickly, and right before Richie’s eyes, the crazy hair smoothed itself down into the messy, dirty blonde he had come to know over the past school year. The makeup from the clown’s face disappeared, and Richie only realized in that moment that Pennywise and Mr. Peterson had the exact same face shape. He hated himself even more for only realizing this now—if he had been more observant, he could have avoided this whole mess. The clown’s ruffled clothes were replaced with the smart teacher’s garb. Once again, Mr. Peterson was standing right before him. 

“You know, I’ve learned over the past little while that you’re _far_ more terrified of me as Mr. Peterson than as Pennywise. Funny how that works, since you’re afraid of clowns, right?” it mused to itself.

Richie couldn’t bring himself to speak, but he knew that It was right—even though he had a phobia of clowns, seeing Mr. Peterson holding the pistol against Bill’s head had been one of the most terrifying sights he had ever witnessed. It had terrified him more than his encounter with the Paul Bunyan statue, more than going to Neibolt, and even more than what he had seen during the Smokehole. As he thought about this, It kept talking.

“I know exactly _why_ this form scared you so much. You see, as Pennywise, as all those monsters… I aim to scare children from the moment I see them. You understand that, don’t you? Well, I was thinking, what could scare a child more than an adult defying their trust? I displayed myself mainly as Pennywise for over four hundred years, so… after killing George Denbrough, I decided, why not change things up a little?” it explained, and then pinched Richie’s cheek. “The rewards have been _oh so_ satisfactory. The fear I smell right now… I don’t think I’ve ever smelt anything like it before.” 

A drop of saliva fell from It’s mouth and onto Richie’s forehead. His heart hammered as the saliva dribbled down, knowing that he was about to become the monster’s next meal. However, It then blinked several times, as if waking up from a daydream. 

 _I need to distract It for as long as possible if I’m going to find any fucking way to rewind,_ Richie thought. His eyes fell to Eddie’s corpse once again, and he felt that sickening feeling in his gut once more. He forced himself to look away, promising himself that he would amend all this. 

“How the hell did no adult suspect you? Nobody questioned you randomly showing up?” he asked. That caused It to laugh.

“ _Suspect_ me? Child, that’s the last thing anyone in this town would do. I’ve always been a loved and accepted part of this town, a _vital_ aspect of the community. I just got myself more involved in different ways. Nobody in this town would ever dare to question me,” It explained.

As It said all this, Richie was attempting to curl his hand into a fist, forcing himself to focus on the final moments before they all went into the sewers. If he returned to that moment, he could save them all. But, his main problem was that he couldn’t even curl his hand into a fist. His hands felt utterly paralyzed. 

As he concentrated on this action, It suddenly grabbed his face, and Richie found himself staring up into the furious eyes of Mr. Peterson. His face was contorted with rage, and when he bore his teeth, Richie could see he had as many teeth as Pennywise.

“Do you think I’m a fool, Richie? I know you’re trying to distract me. Your hands are bound. You can’t change anything. I should end you here and now, but firstly, you and I are going to have a little talk about your playing around with time. You see—" 

_“YOU KILLED MY FRIENDS, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!”_

Both Richie and Mr. Peterson looked up. Stan was still cocooned, unaware of anything that was going on. But, at once of the entrances, Henry Bowers stood there. He was holding a gun, undoubtedly borrowed from his trigger-happy dad. He looked utterly enraged, and for the first time since this nightmare had begun, It looked genuinely astounded.

Richie thought back. He remembered when they first heard Victor Criss and Belch Huggins taunting them from afar. Mr. Peterson had run off to find them, and the Losers presumed he was going to get them out of the sewers. Of course, instead, Mr. Peterson must have killed them both, as It had no reason to let them leave the sewers alive.

Before either It or Richie could figure out what Henry was about to do, the angered bully pulled the trigger, and a deafening blast rang out all around the lair. Richie squeezed his eyes shut briefly, but reopened them when he heard a loud thump beside him.

Mr. Peterson had fallen, and when Richie looked over, he could see that there was now a hole in the middle of its forehead. There was no blood seeping out. Instead, the skin around the hole began to peel and swirl up in the air, as if it were disintegrating. For a moment, Richie believed that Henry had successfully killed It, but It’s chest was still rising and falling. He also noticed that It’s hands were curling themselves in and out of fists, which served as a physical therapy of sorts. _It’s trying to repair itself,_ Richie thought in fear.

He knew time was running out already. He needed to find some way out of this bind. Before he could start to brainstorm, he saw Henry begin to storm over. _No way. Henry can’t undo material as strong as this,_ Richie thought. He noticed that Henry still looked as enraged as before. Clearly, maiming It had not been enough to appease him. 

Henry briefly paused as he was storming over. He stopped in front of Stan, who was writhing. He looked on in irritation as Stan continued to scream, and then, before Richie could figure out what he was going to do, Henry sharply slapped him.

“Shut the fuck _up!”_ he snarled.

While Richie felt a brief flash of rage, it was quickly replaced by shock. When Henry removed his hand, the webbing had been wiped off the spot where Stan had been hit. It fell away as easily as normal webbing. Richie moved his own hands again, but found they wouldn’t budge. He realized that it was easy to remove from the outside, but anyone that was bound inside them would be trapped.

Stan’s agonized screams finally came to an end. He started taking in short breaths, looking around. The webbing still covered his eyes, but he was slowly coming back to his senses. Richie hated to think of what he had been through, but knew that he could erase it all soon. 

Henry stormed over to Richie. He looked up at the bully, feeling exhausted. He needed this part of his quickly devised plan to go well. He was mentally drained from watching his friends in so much emotional and physical pain, and merely wanted it to all come to a stop. 

“Did you have any part in Victor and Belch getting killed, four-eyes?” Henry asked. 

Richie merely shook his head. Henry looked around for a minute, debating mentally what to do. Then, he finally spoke again.

“Fine, let’s say I believe you. That doesn’t mean we’re even. I still want revenge for the shit you’ve put me through with your fucking rocks. So, are you going to sit there quietly and finally take what’s coming to you?” he said, exaggerating the patience in his tone.

“Bowers, what would you want—the chance to beat me up, or the chance to get your friends back?” Richie asked weakly.

Henry looked taken aback at that question. That brief display of surprise was enough to give Richie the answer he needed. While Henry did present himself as a soulless monster, Richie knew he still cared deeply for his friends. As much as he held a grudge against the Losers for everything that had happened during the summer, he would probably give away that grudge to save his friends.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Henry asked, still on the defense.

“I can’t explain, but I _can_ save them if you can free my hands,” Richie said.

“What a bunch of fucking bullshit. You just want me to do that so you can try and fight me again, don’t you?” he snarled.

Richie let out a deep sigh. He knew he didn’t have all day to fight with Henry. Glancing briefly over at Mr. Peterson, he now saw that his jaw was opening and closing. He was regaining the ability to move, and quickly. With resolve, he looked back up at Henry.

“Okay, Bowers. If you free my hands, and your friends are still dead thirty seconds later, you can kill me for all I care,” he said. 

As he said this, he knew that this wasn’t an empty promise. If he couldn’t reverse everything that had just happened, then he would never be able to live with it. Nearly all his friends, including the boy he had feelings for, would remain dead, and Stan would forever live with the trauma of whatever he had experienced under that webbing.

“Fine, but I’m holding you to that.”

Richie looked up in surprise. He didn’t think Henry would concede so easily, but then again, the desperation of looking for any way to save his friends was probably getting to him. Henry roughly wiped the web off the back of Richie’s hands.

In an instant, Richie stood up. He closed his eyes, and at that same instant, he felt the barrel of Henry’s gun press against his head. He knew Henry was counting down the seconds. But, he wasn’t afraid. He slowly curled his hand into a fist, picturing the stink from the sewers when they were about to go in. He pictured the steady stream running under their feet. He pictured his friends, alive, well, and not knowing what was to come. 

At once, the smell of blood and decay faded. He could feel the lair disintegrating around him. When he opened his eyes again, he nearly collapsed to his knees with the utter relief.

He was back outside the sewers, along with all his friends. He observed them one by one. Bill, Beverly, and Mike looked determined, ready to face anything. Ben looked apprehensive, but Richie already knew he’d fight anything as long as Beverly was by his side. He looked at concern at Stan, who was pale, and staring down at the ground emotionlessly. Finally, his eyes fell on Eddie, who was gazing up at him. He wanted nothing more than to hug him tightly, and never let him go. 

 _I’m never losing any of you again,_ he thought, feeling tears threaten to prick his eyes once more.

But then, he looked at one last member of the group—Mr. Peterson. Then, he looked down at the captive bolt pistol in Bill’s hands. He felt rage build up inside him. While he still heavily blamed himself for what had happened in It’s lair, it was nearly triumphed by his hatred for It. The monster had posed as a kind teacher, gained their trust, and then horribly abused it. 

Richie snatched the pistol out of Bill’s hands, who stared at him in confusion. Everyone was now looking at him curiously. Before anyone could question what he was doing, he got on his toes and pressed the barrel of the pistol hard against Mr. Peterson’s forehead. The teacher raised his eyebrows, but still had a calm expression, as if he had been expecting this. 

“Richie, what the hell are you doing?!” Beverly exclaimed.

However, Richie barely heard her. He was glaring at Mr. Peterson with more hatred than he had ever experienced in his life. Everything he had experienced in the sewers was now flashing through his memory, and he knew he had no qualms about what he was about to do.

Each of the Losers looked panicked, except for Eddie. Realization dawned on his face. Of course, he didn’t remember what had happened, but judging by the dark look in Richie’s eyes, something terrible must have happened. He laid a hand on Richie’s shoulder, causing him to briefly look over.

“Do what you need to do,” he said, looking Mr. Peterson up and down with caution.

Gritting his teeth, Richie pulled down on the trigger. A bolt released, and the sound could be heard throughout the Barrens. Over in the bushes, Henry Bowers and his gang heard it, causing them to peak over the bushes and see what had happened.

The gang and the Losers saw as Mr. Peterson fell into the stream. The kids leaned over him. The bolt was planted firmly in his forehead. For a horrible moment, he looked like a normal person who had been shot. Ben’s hands flew to his mouth, anxious that an innocent man had just been killed. Eddie kept his hand on Richie’s shoulder, waiting to see what would happen.

Then, a glowing light began to form around the bolt. Richie pulled Eddie under his arm, shielding his eyes from the lights that had sent Mike into a comatose state. Mike was the first to shield himself, remembering what Richie had told him. The others followed suit.

For a moment, there was a blinding glow, but with their eyes protected, none of the Losers became victim to it. Then, the glow disappeared. When Richie opened his eyes, he just saw the briefest gleam of those lights disappear through the tunnels.

“Now, now! We have to go after it!” he cried, taking off into the sewers.

The others followed quickly in tow, although they were all in a state of shock from what they had witnessed with Mr. Peterson. But, they knew reflections would have to wait until later. Instead, they followed the glow that was up ahead, guiding them in the right direction. This time, though, there were changes. There was no roar from Beverly’s dad. There was no comfort from Mr. Peterson. And, the bullies began their venture into the sewers much earlier, Henry guiding his friends after the Losers, who weren’t far ahead.

By the time that they reached It’s lair, It had assumed a physical form once more. Mr. Peterson was gone, and instead, was replaced by Pennywise. There was a large scar in the middle of his forehead now, and upon closer inspection, there were missing pieces of his skin around the area that he had been shot. 

Richie glared up at the monster, who returned the equally hateful look. However, there was no mistaking that the confidence that had been previously there was now gone. It knew that these kids were powerful, and that it wasn’t as invincible as it convinced itself to be.

Before anything could happen, though, Bill let out a choked series of sounds. Once again, Richie realized he was trying to say Georgie’s name. The body was still in the middle of the room, all prepared in a previous timeline as part of an elaborate trap to weaken the Losers. As he began to take robotic steps towards Georgie, Richie reached out and stopped him.

“It hurts, I know it does, but we can mourn later. The thing that killed Georgie is right there and it’s still alive. Who’s going to avenge Georgie if you’re dead?!” he said. 

He knew his speech was unconvincing, but he was desperate, and not to mention, terrified of how fast It would act upon them. The worry inside him began to grow as he saw that Bill’s eyes were still welling up with tears, but then he nodded weakly, and glared up at the monster who had killed his brother. 

He took a step forward, but then his legs nearly collapsed from under him, and he was wracked with sobs. Mike quickly caught him, hoisting him upright. He rubbed his shoulder in a soothing motion.

Richie once again felt that pang of guilt. He knew he should have told Bill earlier about knowing that Georgie was dead and not missing, but he couldn’t bring himself to. Now, the resolve to fight was weakening in the group, and it was all his fault.

Before he could dwell on his shortcomings much longer, though, Pennywise’s face suddenly transformed into a snarl, and he took a step closer. Richie instinctually held an arm out in front of Eddie to protect him. However, Pennywise bound past the Losers.

 _“You! You ruined everything!”_ Pennywise roared.

Richie turned around. Standing at the entrance was Henry Bowers, Victor Criss, and Belch Huggins. Their tough boy stances quickly changed as they cowered under the monster’s glare. Richie could see Pennywise unhinge its jaw, and before any of the boys could process what was going on, it ripped a chunk out of Belch’s neck.

Victor and Henry screamed, but before they could get away, Pennywise leapt over and took a meaty bite out of the side of Victor’s head. Victor slumped to the ground. Henry looked down at his two friends, and backed into the wall, pleading with Pennywise for his life.

“You want to live? I can allow that.”

Pennywise rehinged its jaw. But, Henry wasn’t allowed the chance to run away. From where they were standing, they could see two glowing lights shine from Pennywise’s eyes. Henry stared into them, and his eyes became glazed. He simply stood there, staring off into nothingness. The boy who had antagonized the Losers all summer had become the most harmless thing in the room.

While Pennywise was still facing Henry, Beverly rummaged in her pocket. She pulled out the slingshot. The others held their breath as she took the shot with the silver bullet. Richie had his palm out at the ready, in case Pennywise turned around and dodged, or Beverly missed, even by a little. However, he quickly realized he badly underestimated her skills. 

The silver bullet went flying through the air, and struck Pennywise between its shoulder blades. It let out a ferocious cry, but it was unmistakable that the cry was one of agony. It spun on its heels, as if just remembering the Losers were there. As it ran towards them, the Losers didn’t run away, but braced themselves, ready to fight.

Once it came into the circle, unhinging its jaw, Ben swung his foot and kicked Pennywise in the back of its ankle. It fell to the ground, and the Losers didn’t waste the opportunity. In an instant, Pennywise was met with kicks to the side, legs, and head. Stan, with a deadly look in his eyes, stamped down on its calf, causing the monster to snarl.

It looked around weakly at the children. As Richie sent a sharp kick into its side, Pennywise decided this had gone on long enough. It grabbed Richie by the ankle, and then pulled itself up. The Losers froze. While It was certainly weakened, judging by its swaying and half-lidded eyes, it was still powerful enough to grab Richie by the throat and lift him up. Richie stared down at it helplessly.

“You think you’re more powerful than me? _Me?”_ it scoffed. 

Richie tried to weakly punch it, but to no avail. Its grip was too strong. As its grip tightened around his throat, he closed his eyes, trying to calm himself. _It’s okay. If I could survive what happened back there, I can survive anything. I just need to think of a solution, like, right now—_

 _“GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!”_ Eddie snapped, more fury in his voice than Richie had ever heard before.

Before any of the Losers, Richie included, could figure out what was going on, there was suddenly that clamping sound again. A bolt snapped through It’s forehead from behind, and the monster’s expression was frozen. Then, it began to teeter forward. Mike leapt up, pulled Richie out of It’s loosened grip, and helped him to the floor, just in time to see the monster collapse.

Eddie stood there, panting and holding the pistol. There was a fiery rage in his eyes as he glared down at Pennywise. However, when his eyes met Richie’s, his gaze softened. He dropped the pistol and ran to his side. Then, without any hesitation, he pulled Richie into a tight hug using his good arm. Richie was still staring down at him in utter amazement at what he had just done, and hugged him back. 

“Beverly, _now!”_ Ben cried.

They looked up. Beverly had grabbed the second silver bullet, positioning it in the slingshot. She aimed down the hole that had appeared in the back of Pennywise’s head, and biting her lip, she took the shot. The Losers held their breath as they heard the silver bullet fall in, sounding like a pebble being dropped down a well. She moved to Ben’s side, who put a protective arm around her as they carefully watched the monster. 

Before the group could contemplate on whether or not the move was the right one, Pennywise suddenly made sounds as if he was choking. Its skin began to disintegrate, and it began gasping for breath. The Losers stood and watched as the monster that terrorized them throughout the summer turned to dust. After about half of It had disintegrated, the rest seeped into the cracks of the concrete. Eventually, there was nothing left.

“It’s gone, right? This is all over?” Stan asked weakly.

“No idea. But it’s looking pretty good,” Mike said.

None of the other Losers were paying attention, though. Ben had eagerly began to praise Beverly, telling her in a quick, rambling voice how amazing she was. She listened for a few moments before cutting him off by quickly kissing his cheek, and laying her head against his shoulder, clearly exhausted. Richie and Eddie were still holding on tightly to one another. Eddie was rubbing Richie’s back gently, terrified at the thought of having almost lost him. Richie was, once again, realizing how lucky he was to have Eddie by his side, after previously witnessing him meet a tragic end. As for Bill, he had finally made his way over to his brother’s body, taking his long delayed time to mourn, holding him, and blaming himself for what had happened. Once the talking, mourning, and comforting was over, the Losers finally left the sewers. 

* * *

 

Even though they had all witnessed It disintegrate, there was still that uncertainty surrounding whether or not It was truly dead. Using a glass shard from a cola bottle, they all made a blood oath to return one day if It ever came back. Richie cautiously watched all his friends, ready to rewind in case something went terribly wrong. 

Once the oath was made, they stayed in their circle for a while longer, before going their separate ways.

However, Richie and Eddie walked together along the Canal. Evening was beginning to fall. Eddie was gazing at the cut on one of his hands. It was still raw, and would probably take several hours to start scabbing over. Richie gazed down at him. They had been walking in silence for quite some time, but then, Richie pinched his cheek to catch his attention.

“I don’t think I said this to you yet, but thanks. You really did come through and save me in the end, huh?” he said with a grin.

“I told you I’d be there to protect you, didn’t I?” Eddie mumbled, embarrassed.

Richie was amused by the complete contrast from how Eddie had been earlier, when he shot that bolt into Pennywise’s head. The events of the day were still weighing heavily on his mind, but being with Eddie was helping to numb the sheer horror of what he had experienced. There was one thing that he did want to discuss with Eddie, however.

“So, you probably already know that we faced off against It twice today. The first time was a complete disaster, but you told me you needed to say something important. Since we no longer have a crazy clown trying to kill us, can you tell me?” he asked, trying to keep his tone nonchalant. 

Eddie looked up at him in surprise. He raised his eyebrows then, probably realizing what he would have wanted to tell Richie in life-or-death circumstances. A blush began to form across his cheeks, and instead of justifying Richie with an immediate response, he took Richie’s hand in his own as they walked.

“Maybe not _right_ now. We had a pretty crazy day, so I think we should just wind down and take it easy now,” he told him.

Richie let out a huff at that, and Eddie could tell he was about to try and annoy Eddie into telling him. So, he came to a stop, facing Richie. He gazed up at him for a moment before speaking.

“I’m so glad I didn’t lose you today. I… you mean a lot to me,” he mumbled.

Then, before Richie could respond, he leaned up and gently kissed him, something he had been wanting to do since they had proceeded on their walk home. He let out a soft sigh, feeling the most content he had since that crazy day had begun. However, their moment was cut short when they heard voices nearby.

“Holy fuck, did you see that?” they heard one boy around their age say quite loudly.

“Isn’t that the Kaspbrak kid? My mom goes to their church. Mrs. K would have a fucking aneurysm if she saw that shit,” another said, and snickered.

Eddie pulled away as soon as they heard the voices, as if he had been suddenly shocked by something. Richie could see the boys from a distance. They were proceeding on their route, thankfully not stopping to actually antagonize them. But, that was only a small mercy. When he looked down at Eddie, he saw how pale he had become.

“My… My ma can’t know. She can’t,” he said quietly, and Richie could tell he was on the verge of tears. 

“Hey, hey! It’s fine! I can fix this, remember?” he comforted Eddie.

He held out his palm to rewind the moment. However, as he tried to focus all his energy into rewinding, nothing happened. He looked like he was just holding his palm stretched out. He stretched out all the muscles in his fingers, but still, nothing happened. _No way. It worked every other time before,_ he though. The desperate look he gave Eddie was enough to make the other boy panic.

“I dunno what’s going on. I think my powers are gone,” Richie said, staring down at his hands in disbelief.

Eddie’s eyes widened. There was no erasing what those boys had seen. What made it worse was that there was a high chance of his mother finding out, and he dreaded to think of her reaction to hearing news like that. He took a step backwards, shaking. He had no idea what to do. Every part of his brain was in a frenzy. 

“I… I can’t… I’m sorry,” he said.

Then, he turned on his heels, and ran. Richie was tempted to call out after him to stop, but knew that at that time, Eddie needed time alone to think. This was a terrifying situation for him, and he knew it.

The next few times they met, their group would have dwindled. Beverly would move away to Portland the following week, but the six boys would still hang out regularly. Eddie didn’t treat Richie in a cold manner. They still remained good friends, but there was no intimacy between them. Eddie would opt to walk home alone in the evenings. Richie would be glad to still have him as a close friend, but he still pined for him, and for weeks, worked up the nerve to discuss the status of their relationship with him. However, before he could work up the courage completely, Eddie would announce that he and his mother were moving to Albany. Their relationship wouldn’t have been discussed by that point. The uncertainty hung in the air between them, Richie still wishing to be with Eddie, and secretly, Eddie also with him. It would be twenty-seven years before they spoke again.

But that was all to come in the future. For that current moment, Richie gazed after Eddie as he ran down the street, scared of what was to come. As Eddie became a mere silhouette in the distance, Richie still held out the hope that he would turn around and run back to him, where they could figure out something together, even without time powers. He slowly took the lucky coin out of his pocket, holding it close to his chest as he gazed after the boy he cared for so deeply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, that's the end of Part One! Thank you all so much for getting this far, and I can't wait to show you what's ahead. As always, if you enjoyed, please leave feedback!


	12. Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so part two begins now! Just to let you know, this chapter and the next aren't going to be particularly Reddie-focused, but it is necessary for the story's progression. Bearing that in mind, I hope you enjoy!

 

Richie moved away from Derry when he was fourteen. When he first left, the memories of what he experienced remained heavy on his mind. However, the longer that he stayed away from Derry, the more dreamlike that summer became. As months passed, his memories of their fight against Pennywise in the sewers began to dwindle. By the time two years had passed, he never thought about any events from that summer, and the Losers only crossed his mind occasionally. However, for those few years, thinking of Eddie always brought a familiar pang to his heart. 

The only way that he could remind himself that what happened wasn’t a strange fever dream was by holding the coin that Eddie gave him. Every night since he moved way, he would keep it in the palm of his hand, and for those brief moments, Derry would become more prominent in his mind.

He did this every single night, but as the years flew by, he thought of Derry less and less, until he never thought of it at all. But he continued to hold the coin in the palm of his hand every night. He no longer understood why he did it, and merely considered it a habit at this point. That habit followed him into adulthood, and even after he gained success in LA towards the end of his twenties, he still kept that coin on his bedside locker, following him from his childhood. 

So, Derry stayed far away from his mind until one night twenty-seven years after that chaotic summer. Twenty-seven years later, Richie Tozier was nearly forty, and was one of the most successful radio hosts in LA. He was generally satisfied with how his life had turned out—he got along pretty well with the people he worked with, he had enough money to live a very comfortable life in a big city, and owned a spacious studio apartment. He could safely say he was satisfied, but if anyone asked him if he was _happy,_ he would feel a hesitation in his mind before answering yes.

Occasionally, his colleagues would bring up the fact that he had such a big apartment for one person, wondering why there was nobody to ever share it with. They had a point; over the years, Richie’s relationships were short-lived, lasting a few weeks at the most, as he generally just stuck to quick flings. So, he always came home to an empty apartment, that sometimes felt a little too large for one person. Whenever his colleagues would bring up his love life, he would feel a fleeting ache in his heart, but it would be gone before he had time to dwell on it.

He never felt the need to delve into these random aches with the people he considered his friends. While he certainly had a good social standing, he never thought that he was close enough to these people to wear his heart on his sleeve. There was never anyone he let down his barrier for, but in moments where he was close to doing so, he felt a wave of yearning for a time he could barely remember. He would only remember after the phone call on that fateful night.

The night started out as a normal one for Richie. He had an interview with a big-shot celebrity the following day, and his manager had warned him that this particular celebrity had high expectations for the quality of this interview. Knowing he was in for a long night, he made himself a cup of coffee, sat down in front of the television, and began to run through his questions for the following day. He kept his feet propped up on the coffee table. He turned on the television and turned it down to a low volume for background noise. A popular sitcom was on, and even as Richie focused on his notes, his attention was briefly diverted by a laugh track.

His routine continued as normal for about fifteen minutes. He read through the questions, scribbling in a joke or two in one of his famous voices, before taking a sip of coffee and moving onto the next question. He was halfway through the fourth question, mulling over what joke he could use, when the landline suddenly began to ring.

For a moment, Richie just eyed it up suspiciously. Nobody he knew ever bothered to call his landline anymore, they just called his mobile. So, hearing its shrill ring for the first time in years was definitely out of the ordinary. Hesitantly, he reached over and took the phone out of its holder. 

“Hello?” he said apprehensively.

“Richie? It’s Mike Hanlon, from Derry. Do you remember me?” the voice on the other end said.

Richie was suddenly alert. It took him a second to remember, but then, he recalled who Mike was. One of his childhood friends, appearing in his life again for the first time since he moved away. A part of him wondered if Mike was looking for an opportunity to rekindle their friendship, but another part of him knew there had to be a strong reason why he was calling after all this time.

“Yeah, of course I do, Mikey! How could I forget?” he laughed, trying to put on an upbeat tone. 

He still couldn’t shake the nervous anticipation that was building inside him. Thankfully, though, Mike wasn’t the type to sit around making small talk. He always got straight to the point.

“Well, I’m relieved you remember. Do you also remember It? And how we all made a promise to fight it again if It ever returned?” he continued.

Richie furrowed his brows for a moment. _What the hell is he talking about? It? What is—_ he began to wonder, but he was suddenly hit with a sharp mental image. He pictured a vast room built with grey bricks. He pictured a clown. A statute come to life. In fleeting images, he was beginning to remember It.

“Yeah…? What’s this about?” he asked.

“Well, the reason I’m calling is because It’s back,” Mike replied, and although he tried to sound calm, there was no mistaking the shakiness of his voice.

Upon hearing what Mike said, Richie sat up straight. He had forgotten that he had his feet propped up on the coffee able, so as he moved forward, his foot sprang forward too. He accidentally gave the mug of coffee a hard kick, causing it to fall off the table, where it landed on the floor and broke. The smell of coffee wafted throughout the living room. 

“Shit,” Richie murmured, dropping the phone.

Then, as if by natural habit, he held his palm out. The mug moved in reverse, mending its pieces and moving back onto the table, in its original spot. The characters on the sitcom moved in reverse. Richie stared down at his hand with wide eyes and realized that he was doing something he had not done, or even thought of, in years—he was rewinding.

He stopped, squeezing his hand into a tight fist, as if that would prevent anything. Then, he felt a sharp, searing pain in the back of his head. Groaning, he shut his eyes, and then, in the brief moment his vision had darkened, a series of images seemed to flash by. Georgie in his yellow rain slicker, gazing at him. A storm on a distant horizon. Beverly laughing as he mimicked Stan. A gloved hand shooting out of a photo album, followed by terrified cries, including his own. The cold, unforgiving yellow eyes of a young man in It’s lair, holding a captive bullet pistol.

Then, Eddie Kaspbrak’s concentrated but caring gaze underneath a red sky.

Richie’s breathing became quick and labored, and although he urged himself to take slow deep breaths, his brain wasn’t responding to the request. _How could I have forgotten all of that?_ he thought. However, before he could think any further on his past, the phone began to ring again. This time, there was no hesitancy or apprehension. He lunged over and grabbed the phone.

“Mike, I know. I know It’s back, and we… we made a promise or something. I know. I remember,” he babbled.

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment.

“Richie… are your time powers back?” Mike asked.

“I guess so. I just kind of did it like it was a habit, you know? I swear that’s the first time that happened in twenty-seven years,” Richie said.

“I’m assuming you’re freaked out right now, and understandably so. _God,_ this can’t be a coincidence. I think your powers returned so we can fight It again. If you’ll come, that is. Will you?”

Richie paused before answering, as if he was thinking over the question for a moment. But he already knew there was no point in pretending to think, as he knew the answer from the moment he rewound.

“Of course, Mike. I’ll be there as soon as I can,” he said, and heard a sigh of relief on the other end.

“Good, thank you. That’s a relief to hear. You’re the last person I’ve called, and when I called the others, I asked them the same question. Everyone said yes. But I have another question to ask you.”

“Well, I’m listening.”

“So… you know that returning to Derry is a big thing to ask. We all experienced horrible things that summer, and to be frank, I’m uncertain if everyone will actually come back. I think that if they hear It is back, they’ll... I don’t know, take another way out, if you get what I mean,” Mike explained.

“You think that some of them might kill themselves?” Richie asked, raising his eyebrows. There was a long silence at the other end.

“Unfortunately, yes. You know, probably better than anyone, how terrible it was facing off against a force like that. But… I don’t want anyone to kill themselves over this. So, if one of the others _does_ decide to take their lives, I was hoping you could go back to prevent it. Don’t force them to come back to Derry, just… make sure they know that we’ll kill It for certain this time,” Mike said, and then added apologetically, “I’m really sorry if this is all too much to ask.”

Richie felt a chill creep up his spine. He knew Mike wasn’t being overdramatic—the possibility of at least one of the Losers killing themselves was on the table. They had witnessed horrible things, and if they returned, it wouldn’t be with enthusiasm. However, when he thought about saving them from death, his mind flashed back to when he attempted to save Georgie, and the guilt that weighed on his conscience after failing. 

But then, he remembered the moment he first gained his powers, and successfully saved Eddie. Just like in the past, thinking of Eddie managed to soothe his nerves.

“It’s not too much. I’ll do whatever I can to help,” Richie said seriously.

“Thank you, Richie. I’ve asked the others to text me once they’re on the way, so I’ll keep you in the loop. Can you let me know when you’re on the way as well?” Mike asked.

Richie agreed, and the pair exchanged mobile numbers. Then, he hung up the phone. On the table, the mug of coffee remained untouched, now gone cold. The sitcom was still on, the laugh track filling the silence of the room as he contemplated what had just happened. Then, he sprang off the couch, ran towards his room, grabbed a suitcase, and began stuffing any clothes he could find inside.

As he packed his suitcase, he found himself beginning to tremble. _Oh god. I’m really going back to Derry. There’s no avoiding this._  

* * *

 

When Richie pulled up at the airport, his phone vibrated before he could get out of the car. He checked it and saw that it was Mike.

_Richie, thanks again for making good on your promise. I’ve received definitive answers from the others. Don’t come to Derry yet. Four of them have confirmed they’re on the way, but one didn’t._

Richie held his breath. He knew by the phrasing of the text that Mike meant one of the Losers was definitely dead. He clutched the phone, staring at the screen with both hands, waiting for Mike’s next text, explaining who it was. He had a horrible feeling in his gut that it was Eddie. While, as a child, he showed tremendous bravery and willpower, Richie still knew that Eddie could have been emotionally scarred from that summer. _Please not him. I_ need _to see him again,_ he thought. He was amazed at himself. Even though they hadn’t seen each other in twenty-seven years, the force of memories had also brought back that overwhelming desire to protect him. 

Then, his phone buzzed again. This time, though, it indicated that there was an incoming call from Mike. Holding his breath, Richie accepted the call, hesitantly bringing the phone to his ear.

“I’m sorry, Richie, I can’t type. My fingers are shaking too much,” Mike murmured, and sniffled. It was clear that he was crying.

“Hey, I understand. Tell me who it is.”

“Stan.”

Richie slumped back against his seat. For a moment, he hated himself for just fearing Eddie possibly being dead. Stan, one of his first ever friends, the boy he teased so often, who always provided sense and logic to the group, was now dead. He felt an ache in his heart, but understood why he would have preferred to take his own life rather than return to Derry.

His attention was snapped back to Mike when he realized that he was still crying. Of course, he understood why Mike must be upset too. He had made the phone call that had led Stan to commit suicide, and the burden he was bearing must have been far too overwhelming.

“I’ll fix it, Mike. I promise,” he said in the hopes of reassuring him.

“I know, I know, it’s just… difficult in the current moment. The others texted me, but I heard nothing from Stan, so I called his house phone. His neighbor answered. She told me that his wife, Patty, found him in the bathtub with his wrists slit at around seven thirty,” Mike said, trying to keep his tone steady. “He lives—lived in Atlanta. Can you fly there tonight?”

“Of course.”

Mike thanked him once more and told him Stan’s exact address. Then, he hung up, leaving Richie alone in the silence of his car. Then, he pressed his head against the top of the steering wheel, squeezing his eyes shut. He knew unknown horrors awaited with It, but at that moment, his biggest fear was how he was possibly going to talk one of his childhood best friends out of killing himself.

Then, preparing himself, he left the car. 

* * *

 

Much to his luck, there was one first class seat left on the next flight to Atlanta. Though it was expensive, even by his standards, he was willing to pay. He settled himself in for the journey, which was long enough. After a few restless hours, he managed to fall asleep, where memories began to haunt him in the form of dreams, no longer avoidable.

In this dream, he was sitting next to Eddie, who was in a hospital bed, his arm in a cast and tears in his eyes. Even in the haziness of the memory, Richie could feel his emotions as intensely as he did that day. Seeing Eddie upset was still as heartbreaking to him today as it was back then. He knew that he cared deeply for Eddie. Was _care_ even the right word? Somewhere, in the back of Richie’s mind, he knew that his feelings went far beyond just caring. Then, he heard his own voice, echo-like in the dream-state.

_“I’m always going to be here for you, because I… really like you.”_

Eddie became visibly happier upon hearing that. Richie knew why he had felt happy in that moment; he was reassured that his mother was wrong, that Richie would never leave him.

Then, in the present moment, Richie’s eyes snapped open. He felt disorientated for a moment. A part of him still felt like he was sitting next to Eddie in that hospital room, but he was physically on a commercial airline to Atlanta, staring at the seat in front of him.

Then, his hands flew to his mouth, feeling a wave of nausea overtake him. It wasn’t to do with the sensation of flying, but rather, the overwhelming guilt that overtook him. 

 _Eddie trusted me to always be there for him, but I let him go. I let him go to Albany with his mother. I never told him anything. Never tried to keep in contact. I proved his mother right, and he probably hates my guts now,_ he thought, doing everything in his power not to start crying. It was difficult—he despised himself. He had done the one thing he would have never dreamed of doing during that summer; he let Eddie go.

He leaned back in the seat, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to focus on anything else. As he tried to push Eddie out of his mind, another memory overtook him.

This time, it was Stan, but he couldn’t see his face. This was due to the fact his face was covered in a strange webbing, which was putting him through unbearable agony. _His screams… how the hell could I have ever forgotten that?_ Even though Richie rewound countless times that summer, Stan still suffered enough to kill himself.

He thought desperately about that summer. Wracking his brains, he tried to pinpoint a moment that he could have rewound to help Stan, to avoid this conclusion. He wondered if it didn’t even need rewinding. Maybe if he had just been a better friend that summer, none of this would be happening.

With these thoughts, he found himself even closer on the verge of tears. He tried to steady his breathing, to focus all his thoughts into that. He no longer wanted to think of the past. He didn’t want to think of how he had broken his promise to Eddie, or how he could have been a better friend to Stan. He just wanted this all to end.

Richie’s thoughts were interrupted as the intercom overhead announced that the flight had begun its descent. Looking out the window, he saw the city come closer into view. As of right now, the Losers were making their way back to Derry, and Stan Uris was still dead. He looked down at his hand, promising himself it wouldn’t stay like this.

He was determined that this time, nobody was going to suffer. He wouldn’t make any mistakes like the last time. As the city came closer and closer into sight, he was determined to save his friend from his horrible end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, once again, we're going to be delving into another canon event, so there's going to be some heavy topics in the next chapter, just so you're warned! As always, if you've enjoyed, please leave feedback!


	13. Freeze

Richie took a taxi out to Stan’s house, his heart hammering in his chest. The taxi driver didn’t try to make small talk, which is a relief, as Richie wasn’t in the mood for small talk at all. The only thing Richie said to the driver was to drop him off at the end of the street, which he complied with. 

Once the taxi came to a halt, Richie retrieved his suitcase and got out. He rolled it down towards the end of the street. In every other house, the lights were off except for one. There were multiple cars parked outside one house, including a police car. There was light flooded in a thin light through a crack in the curtains in the living room. Richie saw the silhouettes of people in the room, and could make out a woman sitting on the couch with her head in her hands.

With a shaky breath, he held one palm out, using his other hand to clutch the handle of his suitcase. Staring intently at the house, he began to rewind. Minutes went by quicker and quicker, and Richie eventually knew he was rewinding by hours. As he rewound, he felt a throbbing pain in the side of his head. When it became too much to ignore, he lowered his palm, knowing he had rewound a considerable amount of time.

Rubbing his temple with one hand, he looked up. The bathroom light was on. He squinted, wondering if he was just on time or a little too late. That question was quickly answered when he heard a spine-chilling scream from the upstairs bathroom. The scream repeated once, then twice. If Richie didn’t know any better, he would have thought Stan’s wife was being murdered.

 _Fuck, just a little farther back,_ he thought, and trying to ignore the way his palm was shaking, he rewound. However, he was only able to rewind for a couple of seconds before that pain in the side of his head suddenly exploded in every part of his brain. Letting out a cry, he fell to his knees. One eye was watering badly, causing him to squint. 

He still kept his palm held out, though. There was an unnatural stillness in the air. Looking down the street, he saw a car was frozen in time, paused in its driving. _Okay, okay. Maybe it’s better I keep things paused, right?_ he thought, as he struggled to get to his feet. He slowly walked towards the front door, dropping his suitcase so that he could hold his free hand in front of his watering eye.

He briefly let that hand down to open the front door, which was surprisingly unlocked. The house was utterly silent. Glancing briefly into the living room, he saw that Stan’s wife was frozen in time, in the middle of sewing a black button back onto a shirt. A game show was frozen on the television, the host paused in time, holding up a blue card. Richie felt a pang of sorrow upon seeing Stan’s wife look so relaxed at that current moment, not knowing that in a mere few minutes, she would find her husband dead.

Richie quickly shook his head, making his way towards the stairs. He promised himself it wasn’t going to happen this time. Stan was going to live. He wouldn’t force him to come to Derry if he didn’t want to, but just as long as he didn’t die, that would be enough for Richie.

His hand was trembling badly now. He knew he needed to hurry up. Glancing around the upstairs hallway, he noticed every door was either open or ajar except for one. He knew it must be the bathroom, as Stan prepared to kill himself behind a closed door.

He couldn’t hold on any longer. He released the tension from his hand, and the moment he did so, a flood of light appeared under the crack of the bathroom door. He heard footsteps within. _No, I need to talk to him out here,_ he thought, and once again, held out his palm.

He rewound for less than half a second before a searing pain struck his head once more. He held back a cry and immediately let go. Almost immediately, he felt blood trickle from his nose, the first time it had bled in years. Holding one hand underneath his nose to curb the bleeding, he looked worriedly towards the bathroom door. He realized, in that moment, he was in too much pain to rewind, and if he rewound any further, it could potentially kill him. Closing his eyes, he sighed. He knew he had to do this without any rewinding.

Downstairs, he heard a dog bark in the back yard. There was the sound of Stan’s wife leaving the sofa, approaching the back door. The door opened and closed, as she went out to give the dog attention. Richie only briefly concentrated on this before turning his attention back to the door. 

Taking in a deep breath, he strode forward and opened it.

Under the fluorescent lighting, he saw Stan, much older now, with a certain weariness to him. He was standing by the sink, the cabinet open. In one hand, he was holding a razorblade, which gleamed under the lighting. He was clutching the sink basin with his other. Richie caught a fleeting glimpse of the dark, resolute look in Stan’s eyes. It was all he needed to tell him that he was, indeed, ready to commit suicide.

However, that look was quickly replaced by surprise, as Stan looked over and saw Richie. There was a brief flash of confusion, but then, he quickly realized he was staring at one of his childhood friends, simply much older. It took him a moment to react, but then he stumbled back from the sink. Richie took an uncertain step forward, but froze as Stan pressed the edge of the razorblade against the side of his neck. 

“Don’t! I’ll do it, I swear!” he snapped.

Richie held up his hands in surrender. He still felt blood trickling from his nose, causing him to feel lightheaded. He begged himself not to faint now. He needed to face Stan and talk him out of this.

“Okay, it’s okay. I’m staying put, see?” he said, trying to keep his tone gentle.

Stan seemed to calm down a little at that, but there was no mistaking that he wasn’t anywhere near relaxing. His eyes were still wide, and he breathed rapidly in and out through his nose, indicating his nervousness. Richie felt himself suddenly very afraid. He knew Stan was capable of doing it, considering he had succeeded previously. He had no idea how he was going to talk Stan out of it, as he was never the kind to give motivational, life-saving talks. He was always just the joker of the group, after all.

“If you’re here, does that mean I…?” Stan asked, trailing off.

Richie nodded, biting his lip. Stan raised his eyebrows slightly upon hearing that, but kept the blade firmly pressed against his neck, ready to swipe at any stage. 

“Yeah, you did. And I don’t want to see you go through that. I’m here to help you, okay? You don’t have to do this,” Richie replied slowly, considering his words more carefully than he ever did before in his life. 

“Richie, don’t you dare use that shit on me now. I’ve been remembering a lot in the last few minutes, and I was wondering, do you remember when you rewound to save Eddie and Beverly during that rock fight, but when I got badly hurt, you just let me deal with it. I’ve been wondering if any of you ever cared, you know that? I have no reason to go back to Derry for any of you,” Stan said, his tone firm, but hurt. 

Upon hearing that, Richie winced. He remembered that day too, and he knew that he did consider rewinding to help Stan too, but ultimately decided against it. He hated himself for that decision now, but it was in the past, and he had to deal with the consequences.

“Shit, I was a stupid kid. You know that better than anyone else! But don’t you remember afterwards? Mike was by _your_ side first. He’s always cared about you, and when he found out you killed yourself, he was so fucking upset. And so was I. And I bet all the others were too,” Richie said, his voice becoming weaker as he felt his other eye watering, and then he added, “I promise this time I’m going to rewind a million times to save you if I have to. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

When Richie mentioned Mike, he could see that Stan’s grip on the razorblade weakened. He glanced down, and for a moment, Richie felt a spark of relief, certain that Stan was going to put the blade down. Then, he shook his head and held it back up.

“You don’t understand. Your rewinding doesn’t always work. I remember when we were first in the sewers. I know you rewound because I _felt_ you rewind. You couldn’t get rid of my experiences with It,” he seethed. 

Richie’s eyes widened at that, his heart almost skipping a beat. He didn’t understand. Nobody _ever_ remembered their experiences after he rewound. And yet, Stan somehow remembered. He had no idea how that happened, but he began to understand why Stan had been driven to this close to death. And in that moment, he began to realize that saving him would be much more difficult than he originally thought. 

Shakily, he took a step forward, his head racing. He reached a hand out, not sure about what he was going to do, but most likely, he knew he was going to attempt to snatch the razorblade out of his hand. But, the second he stepped forward, Stan backed further away, and as soon as Richie saw the searing look in his eyes, he knew that one more bad move could lead to catastrophic results.

“Hey, I… I’m so sorry. The reason I rewound was to save everyone, including you. I never wanted you to go through that, and I’m so sorry it didn’t work, but know that I _wanted_ to save you,” Richie said, his voice verging on pleading.

“I appreciate you doing that much. But do you want to know what I experienced? I was in the deadlights. I experienced the pain and fear of _every single victim_ that It ever killed. I felt what Georgie felt when his arm got ripped off… I felt what the Blackspot victims felt when they burned alive. I felt everything, Richie! Fucking _everything!”_ Stan cried out.

Richie was taken aback. He considered his own experiences with It to be horrendous, as he had to witness all his friends die or get hurt multiple times. However, hearing about Stan’s experiences made him realize that all of them had experienced their own personal horrors. He opened and closed his mouth, wanting to say something, but remained terrified that saying the wrong thing would cost his old friend his life. Before he could say anything, Stan continued talking.

“It’s not just that. I kept hearing their screams, over and over. I _still_ hear them, in every damn nightmare, and from the second Mike called me, I’ve been hearing them more intensely than ever. I can’t live with that. I _can’t._ There’s only one way I can stop all of this,” he said, sounding exhausted. 

Richie shook his head. He knew he couldn’t let things end like this.

“That’s not true! I… We… We’re going to do better this time. I don’t know why my rewinding didn’t work on you, but this time, I’m not going to let anything bad happen, I promise. I’ll do whatever I can to save you and the others, you know that, right?” he said. Much to his despair, Stan uttered a humorless laugh at that.

“Your rewinding didn’t _work!_ You know what happened when you rewound? The screaming fucking continued. We were outside the sewers again, and I could still hear it. You know what I heard inside my head? A voice told me I was a stupid child, that the deadlights defied the concept of time,” he said, shuddering.

Thinking back to the moment Richie rewound, he recalled something he barely regarded at the time. The rest of the Losers looked completely normal and unsuspecting in that moment, but Stan was pale and looked forlorn. He couldn’t help but wonder if he noticed Stan’s fear sooner, all of this could have been avoided.

His attention was drawn back quickly to the present as he heard Stan take in a shaky breath. He could see that he was trying to keep the blade steady, and as he raised his head a little higher, Richie felt a paralyzing fear overtake him.

“You can’t save me,” Stan said simply.

Richie watched as he closed his eyes. The pressure on the blade tightened, and he knew he was nearly out of time.

 _No fucking way. I said nobody’s dying, but… how the hell can I stop this? I’m not supposed to be the one to talk Stan out of suicide._ Anyone _else in the group would be better suited to this,_ he thought. _Okay, but we’re past that point. Maybe there’s one thing that can save him._

_Fuck, what’s her name?_

Heart hammering, he wracked his brains as quickly as he could. The moment he saw Stan begin to drag the blade across the side of his neck, he responded automatically. 

 _“Patty!_ You can’t do this to her. You can’t, and _you know it!”_ he yelled, his voice full of desperation. 

There was a moment that it seemed that saying Patty’s name did nothing, but then, Stan froze. The blade remained on his neck, and while there was a steady trickle of blood now flowing, he had stopped long enough to let Richie keep speaking.

“She loves you more than anything, doesn’t she? How do you think she’ll respond to this? This’ll _break_ her. You don’t have to continue fighting for us Losers. It’s been twenty-seven years. I understand that. But try for your wife. _Please,_ Stan,” he begged.

For a moment, Stan looked at Richie with cold expectation. Richie bit his lip. He wasn’t sure if he oversold a relationship he knew nothing about, but it was his only shot. He knew it was a lot to ask of Stan. As he stared at the razorblade with utter fear in his eyes, a part of him knew he’d understand if Stan ignored his words.

But then, the coldness in his eyes was replaced by a sadness. Slowly, he lifted the razorblade away from his neck, the blood still flowing in a light trickle. He held it shakily in front of him, tears now welling up in his eyes.

Then, the blade fell to the floor with a small clink, but in the absolute silence of the bathroom, the sound encapsulated the moment. For Richie, it marked a change from the tragic information Mike had given him earlier.

Feeling overwhelmed with the relief, he took shaky steps towards Stan. This time, Stan didn’t show hostility. Instead, he reached toward him too. Richie pulled him into a tight hug, and it was at this point that Stan finally burst into tears, sobbing into Richie’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…” he sobbed, “Thank you so much for coming here." 

“I got your back whenever, Stan. You don’t have to apologize for anything,” Richie comforted him.

He closed his eyes and sighed. He didn’t resent Stan at all for what he tried to do, all he felt was relief that he had managed to succeed. He knew it had been close. Frankly, he would have completely understood if he went through with it. The memories of that summer were hard to live with, after all.

As Stan cried, overwhelmed by what had nearly happened, Richie felt immense gratitude towards Patty, despite having never met her. 

Before he could think any further on Patty, there was a sudden approach of footsteps up the stairs. Stan’s crying began to cease, causing Richie to look over his shoulder in suspicion. Then, he saw that the very woman he was just thinking about. Patty’s eyes widened, both in confusion and fear. 

Before either man could say anything, she let out a terrified cry, jumping backward. Richie reached the automatic assumption that it was due to the fact that a stranger had somehow managed to end up in their bathroom. That was probably partially the reason, but then, Stan, after wiping his eyes, took Richie by the shoulders and turned him towards the mirror.

 _Oh, holy shit._ Richie saw that the eye that kept watering was completely bloodshot. There were dark circles under both his eyes, emphasized by the paleness of his face. The blood from his earlier nosebleed had caked itself under his nostrils, all the way down to his chin. It was no wonder Patty had been frightened to see him. 

“Sweetheart, I think we have a lot to talk about,” Stan said to Patty, trying to keep his tone steady, but failing.

Patty was still fixated on the worn-down stranger currently standing in their bathroom, but her gaze softened with concern upon seeing her husband’s teary eyes, and the slit on his neck. Stan brushed past Richie, putting a hand on Patty’s shoulder as he began to lead her down the stairs, beginning to talk about Derry. 

Richie moved to follow but stopped for a moment to look at himself in the mirror once more. He had obviously put a major strain on himself by rewinding, but he knew that it had been worth it. He glanced at the razorblade on the ground, slightly stained with blood. He considered taking it for a moment, but left it on the floor as he walked out of the bathroom after Stan and Patty. 

* * *

 

It had taken over an hour to go through everything, ending with Stan’s suicide attempt. Stan spared no detail, including their encounters with It and Richie’s time powers. As Stan discussed how close he was to killing himself, Patty had hid her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking. After comforting her for some time, she finally raised her head, sniffling.

“I know it all sounds crazy, but it really happened. You don’t know how much I wish I was making all this up,” he concluded with a sigh.

Patty was quiet for a moment. Then, she squeezed Stan’s hand. 

“I believe you. I’ve known for quite some time, especially when you would just wake up, and you would seem so lost and upset… I knew you were struggling, but I had no idea that you were carrying such a burden,” she murmured, and then turned to Richie, “Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would have done if… if…”

She trailed off and wiped her eyes once more. Stan wrapped an arm around her shoulder to soothe her. In return, she wrapped one arm tightly around his waist. Richie watched them from the armchair. He could understand why Patty had been the deciding factor in Stan’s decision, judging by the way he looked at her. He could tell he truly loved her, and he must have known how lucky he was to have someone who would do anything for his wellbeing. Richie smiled sadly, feeling that pang of loneliness in his chest once more.

“Okay, so I’ve given it some thought. I’m going back to Derry with you,” Stan announced.

 _“What?_ Are you serious?” Richie said, stunned. During their confrontation, he knew Stan would have literally rather died than consider returning to Derry.

“Yes. You came all this way, you put your health at risk, and I’m not letting that go to waste. This is my way of paying you back. Besides, I think the only way that I can ever stop those screams is by killing It once and for all,” he explained.

Richie stared at him for a moment, considering questioning him further on whether or not this was a good idea. But, he was emotionally exhausted from arguing with Stan, and figured that if all seven of them were in Derry, it would give them much better odds against Pennywise.

“Okay, I’ll go pack,” Stan said, shuddering slightly, and then turned to Patty, “Are you okay to mind the house while I’m away?”

Patty looked at him incredulously for a moment, and then shook her head. She stood up too. 

“I’m going,” she told him.

“What?! Did you not just hear me tell you about how terrible Derry is? You can’t go there,” he said, his voice becoming panicky.

Patty tightened her lips, her brows furrowing. She took in a deep breath, clenching her fists. She stood upright, leaning up a little to reduce the height difference between her and Stan.

“Holy shit, she looks like an angry kitten,” Richie commented, directing it at Stan. Neither Stan nor Patty noticed.

“Stanley Uris, when I married you, I promised that any of your problems became my problems too. You nearly _killed yourself_ tonight! If you think I’m going to stay home and twiddle my thumbs while you’re off facing a demonic entity, you have another thing coming!” she snapped, and then, softened her tone. “If you’re worried, I don’t have to actively participate. I can stay at the hotel and on call if you need me. But I don’t feel comfortable knowing your life will be in danger and I’ll be too far away to help you.” 

Stan gazed down at her for a moment. Richie could almost see the cogs working in his brain, weighing up whether or not he should put his foot down about her staying home, but then, he closed his eyes and sighed. He turned to Richie.

“I swear to God, if _one_ thing happens to her, you’re rewinding immediately. Got it?” he said. 

“Loud and clear,” Richie said with a nod.

Stan looked a little more relieved upon hearing that, and then went up to the bedroom to start packing a suitcase. Richie and Patty were left alone in the living room. She had considerably calmed now that she knew she would be close to Stan in case anything happened, but she still looked tense. 

“I had no idea you all had such a terrible time,” Patty murmured, biting on her thumbnail.

Richie frowned at her. The night had been a heavy one for all of them, and he decided it was time to start alleviating the pressure. He shook his head, forcing a grin.

“That was just the really shitty stuff. We had some pretty good times too. You want to hear about Stan’s most embarrassing childhood moments?” he asked.

She looked at him in amazement, confused as to how he was able to jump so quickly from heavy topics to lighthearted ones. But, the corner of her mouth upturned in a smile, and she nodded. He started from the earliest one he could remember, when they were in kindergarten. When Stan came downstairs, Richie was still in the midst of storytelling, which he adamantly protested against.

However, those stories kept them going all the way to the airport, and for the majority of the flight to Derry. Although Stan appeared to be mortified to have his most embarrassing moments exposed to Patty, secretly, he was relieved that he no longer had to concentrate on what was ahead of them.

Towards the end of the flight, Richie found it difficult to keep on entertaining. Instead, he stared out the window, seeing the town from above. The town where he had gained his time powers, found his first friends, his first crush, and where he had faced an unspeakable trauma that had been banished from his mind for so long. But, now he was back. Gazing down at his hand, he wondered if the Losers would be so lucky the second time around, even with his time powers. He felt a seed of hope inside him, considering he had successfully saved Stan, who he was grateful to have by his side again. But, he still couldn’t get rid of that unshakeable fear that the true horrors were still to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand there we go! I'm not going to lie, it was a very close call in my decision as to whether or not Stan lives, but here we are! The next chapter's going to bring in the rest of the grown-up Losers, so I'm excited to share the next chapter soon! As always, any feedback is highly appreciated! Thank you for reading!


	14. Reunite

Once they arrived at the airport, Stan, Patty, and Richie hired a rental car, and began their short car journey into Derry. The silence hung in the air. All of them were too afraid to speak, as they thought of what possibly lay ahead in Derry. Stan was thinking of his last encounter with It, terrified of that encounter repeating itself. He already knew that if he had to deal with the pain and screaming once again, he wouldn’t survive it.

Patty was gazing out the window, sitting tensely upright. She was reflecting on the stories Stan had told her last night about his childhood. As Derry came closer into view, she wondered how such a normal-looking town could hold such a turbulent, traumatic history. She briefly looked away, looking over at her husband, who seemed to concentrate on the road ahead with an intense focus. Thinking again about what nearly happened just mere hours ago, she felt intense relief that he was still here, and promised herself to never take that for granted.

In the backseat, Richie’s arms were folded across his chest as he leaned his head against the window. Luckily, his eye no longer looked so bloodshot, and he had managed to clean up his face before they got in the car. Every now and then, he attempted to close his eyes, but he knew it was highly unlikely he’d be able to sleep. The distance between the airport and Derry wasn’t particularly long, so there would be no point in doing so. But, even if the car ride was significantly longer, he knew he still wouldn’t be able to sleep. His mind was completely focused on what was ahead, and the realization that all of this was real was finally hitting him.

Upon seeing the, ‘Welcome to Derry!’ sign approach, he sat up. After spending so many years away from his hometown, to the point where it was completely cast from his mind, he was finally coming home. As they passed the sign, and officially entered Derry, Richie had no more time to think about what was ahead.

For the first time in years, he blacked out.

_The storm still approaches. The storm that shouldn’t be, the all-consuming storm that uproots all the trees, all the houses, everyone. It comes closer and closer and as it returns it also brings along that fear, that unshakeable fear that nothing can be changed—_

With a gasp, he opens his eyes. The car had been stalled. Patty had unbuckled her seatbelt and was now holding one of his shoulders, possibly to keep him steady. When she saw that he was back to normal, she let out a sigh of relief, but still looked at him with concern. Stan was looking back too, his face pale. 

“That happened once at the Barrens, didn’t it?” he said.

“Yeah, and another time before that,” Richie told him.

“Another time? Do you have any idea what your blackouts mean?”

“I, uh… don’t…” Richie stammered, unsure of how to explain the storm he sees in his visions. Thankfully, though, he didn’t have to finish, as Patty suddenly drew their attention to the window. 

“Oh my god, is that snow?” she gasped.

They looked out the car window. She was right. There was a light amount of snow falling, dropping down in sparse drops onto their windshield, where it turned to water. Stan raised his eyebrows, glancing between his wife and friend.

“That’s odd. It’s nearly summer,” he commented.

Richie didn’t pay attention as Stan and Patty began discussing the possible reasons for this sudden change. Instead, he was thinking about the eclipse that occurred after the Smokehole. Gazing out at the falling snow, he wondered if there was a connection between his time powers and the strange weather occurrences, which always seemed bound just to Derry.

But, he pushed those thoughts away. Instead, he leaned into the front of the car, causing Stan and Patty to pause.

“Okay, I love sitting around all day and talking about weather patterns in Maine, but we should really get going to the townhouse,” he said. 

Stan nodded, and started driving once more. Richie leaned back in the backseat and sent a text to Mike to let him know they were on the way. Mike told him that he’d be there to meet them, and with that, Richie put away his phone, and looked back out the window as Derry rushed by him.

A few minutes later, Stan pulled up outside the Derry townhouse. Once they all got out of the car, Stan and Richie took a moment to look around the street, amazed by how some buildings had been radically modernized, while some remained the exact same as twenty-seven years ago. Despite the stark contrast in buildings, though, that aura of an impending danger still rested in the air.

They went inside the townhouse, taking in the way that the building, once quaint, had been refurbished to resemble something closer to a small, modern hotel, with white walls and shining tiles. There was a woman at the reception, barely aware that guests had just arrived, as she was immersed in her book. They barely noticed her either, though, as their attention was drawn to a man standing in the reception area.

As soon as Mike saw them, his tired eyes brightened. He strode towards them, the hint of a smile beginning to show. Richie took in the sight of his old friend for a moment, wondering how it felt to remember everything that had happened, and to wait so long to be reunited with his old friends again. As they greeted each other, with Stan introducing Patty, he saw that Mike was still looking at them with some curiosity.

“It’s so good to see you all, but Richie, you live on the other side of the country, right? How come you three all arrived together?” he asked.

The other three didn’t know how to respond. Patty bit her lip, looking away. She had been trying hard to not think about what had nearly happened. Stan glanced around the lobby, noticing a few people mulling around, so he leaned in towards Mike’s ear, hesitantly telling him about the previous night. When Stan pulled away, Mike looked stunned, unsure of what to say. After a moment, he turned to Richie.

“Thank you so much. I don’t think I would have ever been okay, knowing that my phone call led to—” Mike began, before Stan cut him off.

“Don’t. I’m here now, and I’ll do whatever I can to help. For now, I just want to move past what happened. Please,” Stan said stiffly. Mike nodded, laying a hand on his arm. 

“Got it. But, I _do_ want you to take things easy. And I really am glad to see you here,” he said, smiling sincerely. 

Stan still looked discomforted for a moment, but then returned the smile, remembering what Richie said the previous night about Mike looking out for him. Then, after a moment, Mike looked around at everyone. 

“Okay, so I’ve made reservations for lunch at the Jade Orient, so once you’re all checked in, we’ll all meet there,” he explained, and then when he looked over at Patty, he began to fumble. “I… well, I only made reservations for seven, but we can meet you after…”

Patty held up a hand to stop him speaking.

“No, no, you guys go ahead. Stanley’s brought me up to speed. I know you all need to discuss what’s going on together, so I’ll be okay on my own, just… call me if you need any help,” she told him, and then hoisted the handle of her suitcase, looking over at Stan. “We should go get checked in. While you’re at lunch, I’ll call my mom and let her know we’ve decided to take a fun, spontaneous holiday to Maine.”

Mike looked relieved that Patty understood the closeness of the Losers’ Club. Richie helped her out with picking up their suitcase, but as all this was going on, Richie wasn’t particularly focused. He was thinking about the way Mike previously phrased something, which he then brought up.

“Hey, you said we’ll _all_ meet at the Jade Orient. Does that mean everyone’s here now?” he asked.

“Well, Bill’s going to be here a little late since he’s flying in from England, but other than that, everyone’s here,” Mike replied.

“So, everyone’s really here, huh,” Richie sighed, speaking more to himself than to Mike, who was still eying him up suspiciously.

“…Yeah. Except Bill,” he said slowly.

However, then it hit Mike. He shared a look with Stan, and once their eyes met, they smirked at each other. Patty looked up at her husband in confusion, about to ask what was going on. He just winked at her as a way of promising to tell her what was going on once Richie was out of earshot. As Richie was lost in his own thoughts, he missed all of this silent exchange. Mike squeezed his shoulder, causing him to snap out of it.

“Okay, go get checked in. Then get going to the restaurant so you can meet _everyone_ again,” Mike said, raising his eyebrows upon saying ‘everyone’. 

Richie nodded, and walked up to the front desk to book a room. Throughout the entire process, he was completely zoned out, as there was just one thing on his mind; the fact that he was about to see Eddie again for the first time in twenty-seven years. His heart was hammering. _How the hell is this going to go? What do I even_ do? he thought. 

* * *

The room was spacious enough, certainly more impressive than what Richie was expecting from accommodation in Derry. The colour scheme consisted mainly of muted colours to create a calming effect. The furniture was minimalistic, with no extra decorations. Outside, Richie had a complete view of the street, where Derry residents mulled about. The snow had stopped falling, indicating it was only a brief flurry, but that didn’t ward off his confusion, and his concern that the strange weather changes might have been linked to his powers.

He watched the window, waiting on his cab to arrive. At that moment, he was sitting on the double bed, which was more comfortable than he expected. He was lost in his thoughts about seeing Eddie again. Looking back on that summer, he knew his feelings for Eddie had run deep. Every time he wondered if it was all in the past, he quickly brushed those thoughts away. _It’s been twenty-seven years. He’s probably a completely different person now,_ he thought, but that was quickly countered by the fact that while Stan and Mike had matured, they still undoubtedly had the same qualities from childhood. There was also the worrying notion that he had never worked through his feelings after Eddie had run away, but instead, forgot him through some strange sort of amnesia until now, where he was in a state of confusion.

 _Okay, don’t complicate this. You’re just going to see your old friends. Nothing mysterious. Don’t think about it._ So, to focus on something else, he switched his gaze between the window and the clock that was perched on the wall. He recalled the first ever sleepover that the full group ever had, and remembering one moment in particular, he raised his palm, and rewound. He watched the clock’s hands move back a little. He went back to the present moment, watching the hands speed up again.

Once he stopped, he felt a throbbing in his head that was becoming all too familiar. As he began to rub at his temple, he heard a car beeping outside, which only intensified the pain in his head. Looking out, he saw that there was a cab. Getting up, he internally promised himself that he wouldn’t screw around with his time powers out of mere boredom anymore.

He broke that promise approximately seven minutes later. The cab ride was quiet, and once again, Richie found himself trying to push away thoughts of what was ahead. Instead, he focused on the screen displaying the taxi fare, seeing how it steadily rose each minute. Almost subconsciously, he held out his palm, and watched the numbers go back down. He stopped when he felt a headache coming on once more. The driver gave him a funny look, and Richie shrugged, indicating he was fine.

They pulled up outside the Chinese restaurant, which was distanced not too far outside of the main town area. Once Richie got out, he strode into the waiting area, and saw that Mike was standing there, hands thrust into his pockets. He smiled upon seeing Richie. 

“I’m going to wait around until everyone gets here, but someone’s already inside if you want to go say hello,” he said.

“You sure you don’t want to come?” Richie asked, raising his eyebrow. Mike shook his head.

“I think I’m fine out here for now. You should go get re-acquainted,” he replied, and quickly told Richie how to get to the separate room he had booked for the reunion.

Richie nodded at that, and went on his way. He threw one last suspicious glance at Mike, confused as to why he chose to stay outside. He figured that the others could find their way to the reserved room easily enough. When he reached the room, though, all thoughts about Mike vanished.

The one person sitting at the table craned his head. As soon as Richie saw the tidy brown hair and those eyes with grey specks in them, gazing at him with shock, he knew he was looking at Eddie. There were now worry lines etched into his forehead, and laughter lines around his eyes and mouth. Richie knew in an instant that he still retained everything that had captured his affections that day during the eclipse. He was alarmed to feel a light, fluttering sensation in his chest.

For a moment, Richie was unsure of what to do. He and Eddie just remained frozen, staring at each other. The last thing he wanted was an uncomfortable atmosphere between them, and he shifted from one foot to the other, thinking of a joke to crack. However, before he could think of anything, he heard the chair scrape as Eddie pushed it back from the table, his eyes still fixated on Richie’s. He walked briskly over to him, and before Richie knew what was going on, Eddie wrapped his arms tightly around him. 

Richie felt his heart hammering harder than it had before. He remained frozen on the spot, but then, he returned Eddie’s hug just as tightly. Feeling his warmth, and taking in the scent of his cologne, he felt more at ease than he did since Mike’s phone call. He felt like this was where he belonged.

After a few moments had passed, Eddie pulled back, gazing up at him with a bashful grin. He looked like he had something to say but couldn’t find the words. He began wringing his hands, and Richie glanced down at them, which is when he noticed the gleam from his fingers.

On the pinky finger of Eddie’s left hand, there was a ruby ring with a thin band, occupying the spot where he used to wear the ring Richie had given him. It wasn’t as gaudy, instead a subtle stone, and this time, it wasn’t made out of plastic. Richie smiled upon seeing that he had kept wearing rings with red stones around his pinky, but when he looked at his other hand, his smile vanished.

There was a wedding band wrapped around his ring finger. Richie felt himself gulp, completely fixated on the gold ring. Almost instinctually, he then gazed down at his own hand, which was wavering. His instinct was to rewind, but he had no idea where he could go. He had no idea when Eddie had found someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. If he had to choose a moment to go back to, it would be the moment that Eddie had ran away from him after the blood oath. He began to wonder how different things might have been if he didn’t cower away from having a serious discussion about finding some way to make their non-official relationship work. 

Then, he lowered his hand. He knew he was being selfish. It had been so long, so it was only natural that Eddie had found someone else. Besides, it was more than likely he had found someone who didn’t remind him of the trauma he had experienced that summer. _Maybe this is all for the better,_ he thought, trying to ignore that uncomfortable feeling in his chest.

“I’m so glad to see… see…” Eddie began to speak, but his breath suddenly became wheezy, and he couldn’t continue.

As his breath came out in short gasps, Richie looked around, and thankfully spotted the inhaler sitting on the table. He grabbed it, held it to Eddie’s mouth, and triggered it. As Eddie caught his breath, he took the inhaler off Richie, and looked up at him gratefully. They were silent for a moment, but before he could help himself, Richie decided to break the silence.

“Gosh, Eds, we just met again and I’m already taking your breath away,” he said, grinning, in spite of that unsettled feeling in his chest remaining. Eddie rolled his eyes, but couldn’t fully hold back his laughter. 

“Have you forgotten I mainly get asthma attacks when I see something repulsive?” he teased.

Richie raised his eyebrows at that, unsure of even how to reply. So, after looking at Eddie’s smug expression for a second, he then pinched his cheek and pulled him closer.

“Hey, I just saved your life and _that’s_ how—” 

“Oh my god, you’re both so old.”

Richie and Eddie turned around, quickly separating. In the doorway, they saw Beverly standing there. She was looking at them with the same amused expression she always had whenever she witnessed the boys bickering with each other. Behind her, Ben was also standing there, and once they made eye contact, he gave them a small wave.

Richie strode over to Beverly, and then walked around her, acting as if he were examining her.

“You’re one to talk. I’m seeing a lot of grey hairs, Bev,” he told her in a solemn tone. 

“Excuse you, no, I’m not!” she protested. Once again, he examined her.

“I dunno, I think you might want to buy some better hair dye.”

“You’re still such a shit, Tozier.”

As they bickered, Richie’s attention was briefly drawn away as he saw Ben and Eddie lock eyes. Eddie shrugged, unsure of how to deal with them, while Ben just shook his head. For a brief moment, Richie wondered if this would be how things would have played out if they all stayed in Derry well into adulthood. He wondered if they would be meeting up for regular group lunches, instead of arranging meetings for the first time in twenty-seven years to discuss a demonic entity. He wondered if his and Eddie’s dynamic would match up with Ben and Beverly’s like this.

Then, he gazed at the two curiously. Beverly had lost touch with all the Losers, including Ben, once she moved away, but he wondered if they had found some way to reconnect, considering they had arrived at the same time. He glanced down at Beverly’s hand and saw a wedding ring. But, when he glanced at Ben’s, he saw that his hands were bare. He realized it must have just been a complete coincidence that they entered the restaurant at the same time, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Ben was going through something similar to Richie at the moment.

Before he had much time to dwell on it, Stan entered the room too, reacquainting himself with Eddie, Beverly, and Ben. After a few minutes of chatting, they settled down in the empty seats. Eddie took the seat he was sitting in previously, Stan sat down on his right, and Richie on his left. Beverly sat across from Richie, with Ben next to her. As they resumed talking, Richie paid close attention to the way he would try to subtly glance at Beverly when she wasn’t looking. _Okay, it’s not just me, then,_ he thought with some relief.

About twenty minutes later, Mike and Bill finally arrived. Bill took a moment to stare at all his old childhood friends. Richie was ready to make some quip, particularly focusing on the obvious grey streaks in his hair, but before he could say anything, Mike spoke up.

“Well, I figured we could get down to business later, but for now, let’s just try to relax,” he suggested.

Nobody appeared to object. Soon, an array of appetizers was set out before them, and they fell into various conversations. Bill was animatedly telling Mike about the movie he was currently writing the script for. Beverly had coaxed Ben into talking about one of his most famous architectural projects, which Richie was listening in on. Stan appeared to be in a deep discussion with Eddie, and judging by his hushed tones, Richie figured he should leave them to it. 

However, at some point, he had grown bored of Ben and Beverly’s conversation, and as he leaned back in his chair, he glanced over at Eddie absentmindedly. However, he became more focused when he realized that Eddie was looking at him wistfully. He wondered what Stan could have possibly told him.

“Everything alright?” he asked and took a glass of water from the table to sip at it.

“Yeah, it’s just… you know, the whole time I was traveling to Derry, I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” Eddie replied quietly, as if confessing a secret.

That was enough to cause Richie to nearly choke on his water. He sat upright, trying to quickly dab at the small amount that had dribbled onto his chin, knowing already that he had failed at any attempts to look casual. 

“About me, huh?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

“Yeah. I’ve started to remember a lot, and I can’t stop thinking about how brave you were that summer. And how brave for coming back here now, of course. I thought I faced some pretty horrible things, but that look in your eyes when you faced off against Mr. Peterson… I don’t know how I could’ve forgotten that. If I faced what you faced, I wouldn’t dream of coming back here,” Eddie explained to him, and then smiled at him. “But here you are, being your brave old self.” 

Richie stared at him dumbfoundedly, unsure of what to say. Once again, he felt that he was drawn back to those moments during that summer when he felt utterly powerless. The one thing that could always brush away those thoughts was Eddie’s constant admiration and encouragement. Hearing those words again brought back a type of happiness that had been lost to him for a long time. 

However, that happiness was also mingled with embarrassment. He slowly brought his napkin to his face, pretending to wipe sauce from his mouth, but in actuality, he was attempting to hide his expression from Eddie. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hide his embarrassment, especially under the other man’s gaze.

He was still thinking of how to reply when a heated debate broke out from the top of the table between Stan and Bill. Eddie frowned upon noticing Richie’s attention had been drawn to the debate instead, but quickly gained interest too, along with the other Losers.

“Bringing y-y-y-your wuh-wuh-wife here i-i-i-is a tuh-tuh-terrible idea. Suh-Suh-Suh-Something b-b-b- _bad_ could huh-huh-happen, a-a-and you know i-i-it,” Bill reprimanded Stan.

“Keeping her safe is my number one priority. We took It down once with no casualties, and besides, she’ll be staying far away from the sewers,” Stan argued. Bill sighed, shaking his head, and turned to Mike.

“I-I-It’s a buh-buh-bad idea, ruh-ruh-right?” he asked, hoping for agreement.

Mike hummed, thinking of how to respond. Then, he looked between his two friends.

“I don’t think it’s preferable that she’s here, no offense, Stan, but she is certainly in more danger while in Derry. That being said, I think it’s better that at least you know where your spouse is, and that you’ve both reached a mutual agreement. I’m assuming the rest of you that are married told your spouses that under _no_ circumstances are they to follow you to Derry. Even if you had good intentions, there’s no denying that if my phone call made you panicked, your spouses are worried now. They might be on their way to Derry as we speak, and it _is_ unsettling to not know where they are right now,” he explained slowly.

As Mike talked about his concerns for the Losers’ spouses, Bill, Eddie, and Beverly all looked discomforted upon hearing this. Fear dawned on their faces, but there was a differentiation for Beverly and Eddie. For Bill, his expression was more concerned, as he was petrified at the thought of anything bad happening to Audra. Beverly and Eddie, on the other hand, were scared. They weren’t scared at the thought of something bad happening to their spouses—Eddie and Beverly were scared of being found by them.

Richie glanced between the three of them, unable to tell understand why Bill’s expression looked a little different from Eddie’s and Beverly’s. Ben glanced over at Beverly, and hesitantly reached a hand over, as if to comfort her, but then retracted it. Mike looked around at everyone, feeling the tension in the room grow.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you all,” he said, looking down.

“You didn’t. You’re just being cautious, which is a good thing. We can’t be blindly optimistic,” Stan said.

As they spoke, Richie looked over at Eddie, who still had his eyes cast downward. He reached over and gently brushed his arm, causing him to look up, startled. His expression softened a little upon seeing how Richie was looking at him.

“I’m sorry, I’m fine, really,” Eddie said before Richie could ask how he was. Then, he smiled and added, “You know, we have twenty-seven years of catching up to do. Tell me what’s been going on.”

So, sensing that Eddie badly wanted to move on from his reaction to Mike’s worries, Richie began to give Eddie a brief summary of his life—moving to LA, becoming a radio host, with a few humble brags tossed in about certain celebrities he was friends with. Eager to know more about Eddie’s life, he coaxed him into talking too. He slowly crunched spring rolls as Eddie told him about how he had moved to Manhattan in his twenties and opened up his own limousine company, where he lived a modest but comfortably rich life. He had mentioned his spouse briefly too—a woman named Myra. He didn’t give details on her, and Richie didn’t dare to ask for more, as that pang returned once more upon just hearing her name. 

He overheard vague snippets of the others’ conversations. He already knew that Bill had become a famous author, and was married to a famous actress, Audra Phillips. All of them had become successful, aside from Mike, which was a strange coincidence for all six of them to share. But, he was more astounded by the fact that all of them had really grown up. They had developed full-fledged lives without each other, but somehow, being back together in that room made them feel like no time had passed without each other at all. 

When dinner was done, Mike cleared his throat and tapped the side of his glass with his fork. Richie held his own glass up to him.

“Speech!” he shouted. Mike looked abashed at this but spoke anyway.

“So, as you all know, It’s back,” he started.

“End speech!” Richie interrupted again, earning a glare from Stan.

“I know none of us want to fight It again, but we made a promise. We survived our last encounter with It, and I believe we can do it again. Henry Bowers has been in Juniper Hill since he was found in the sewers, so it’s highly unlikely he’ll be a problem for us. Some of you may know that Richie’s time powers are back, so that’s another advantage we have. So, if you’re worried about our chances against It, know that the odds are in our favour. Even if we’re scared, we have to do this. Kids are in danger again, and It has already struck,” Mike continued to explain. 

Then, the Losers solemnly listened as Mike began to describe some of the recent cases. Eddie’s breath became labored as Mike described the brutal murder of Adrian Mellon. As he triggered a blast from his inhaler, Richie inched his seat closer, looking at him with concern.

“If any of you want to go home, I’ll understand. But… for coming this far, thank you. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve all made good on your promise. We were a brave bunch of kids, and I’ve been scared for the last three decades, but seeing you all again makes me realize why we were able to take It down that summer,” he concluded, and sighed.

They all sat in silence for a moment. Even though they were all terrified of what was to come, they all knew they’d all stay to face what was to come. However, they didn’t have much time to think about it. Their thoughts were interrupted by the waitress returning. She laid out seven fortune cookies in front of them. 

Richie picked his up with mild interest. He grimaced at the thought of opening it and seeing a vague quote about how danger was right around the corner, or he had wasted his opportunities in love. But, he decided not to think about it too much, and just snapped the cookie open.

He wasn’t greeted with a quote about danger or love, however. There was no slip of paper at all. Instead, in between the two cookie pieces, an eyeball was staring up at him, unblinking. He stared back it in disbelief for a moment, when the cries of disgust from the other Losers caught his attention. He tossed his cookie down on the table, looking around at the others.

 A trail of tiny, bloody intestines was crawling out of Stan’s fortune cookie, seeping through the gaps of his fingers. He threw it down with a disgusted cry. A splatter of blood was now covering Ben’s face, his cookie thrown down too, with blood still seeping from it. He looked over at Eddie, who had put his cookie down as soon as he saw a furry, pipe-like leg crawl out from the gap. 

Eddie let out a terrified cry as another leg emerged, and he clutched onto Richie’s shirt. Instinctively, Richie wrapped a protective arm around him, and picked up his fork. A small tarantula crawled out of the cookie, its many eyes staring at the two men. Richie pointed the prongs of the fork at the spider, his hand shaking. Eddie was trembling in his arms. As the spider moved forward, he considered stabbing the fork down on top of it. Before he could, however, the spider let out a dying wheeze, and withered on the table. Eddie continued hyperventilating, though, his breath getting shorter and shorter.

“Whuh-Whuh-Whuh-What the f-f-f—"Bill stammered, but was cut off by Beverly’s cry of terror.

While all the men were holding something grotesque, her fortune cookie just had a crumpled piece of paper inside. With trembling hands, she dropped the fortune cookie. She stood up and walked briskly out the door, her face pale.

“Buh-Buh-Buh—” Bill began once more, but trailed off.

He watched as Ben glanced at the crumpled paper. He got up and chased after her, frowning. Curiously, Richie reached across the table and took the piece of paper, which read:

 

_I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE YOU FUCKING BITCH AND I’M COMING FOR YOU_

_DERRY TOWNHOUSE ROOM 643_

_SEE YOU SOON_

_-TOM_

 

The handwriting was shaky, but Richie quickly realized it must have been the handwriting of her husband. He recalled her unsettled expression when Mike mentioned the possibility of their spouses arriving in Derry, and he realized she was afraid. She didn’t need to experience such a sense of horrible fear, and none of them needed to go through what their fortune cookies had offered them.

He raised his palm, but before he could concentrate, Eddie grabbed his hand and slammed it down on the table, panicked. Richie stared at him in utmost confusion, where he was met with a firm look. 

“Stan told me about what you looked like when you rewound last night. You’re not putting your health on the line again. I’m not going to let you get hurt,” Eddie told him firmly. 

“You told him?!” Richie cried to Stan.

“Of course. I knew he’d be worried, and he’s right, you know. You should only really rewind when it’s literally life or death. This is too dangerous to mess around with,” Stan advised. 

Richie looked around at Bill and Mike incredulously, but they just lowered their gazes. He threw up his one free hand in disbelief. 

“So, what, you all just _want_ to remember you went through this nasty experience?” he asked.

“I-I-I think w-w-w-we nuh-nuh-need to e-e-experience suh-suh-some buh-buh-bad thing huh-huh-here,” Bill said.

“I agree with Bill. We can’t keep letting you shelter us from bad experiences while you remember them. We have to face unpleasant things, especially given what’s ahead,” Mike interjected.

Richie opened his mouth to protest, but closed it upon seeing Eddie gazing up at him pleadingly. He knew Eddie wanted him to take care of his health first and foremost. Even though he wanted to erase the Losers’ bad experiences, he decided that there were some things that they did need to face. So, with Ben and Beverly outside, the five remaining Losers sat there quietly, surrounded by tiny gory artifacts. In the silence, all of them were wondering what the hell they were getting themselves into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, that was much longer than expected, but I'm so glad to have finally brought back all the Losers! I was going to include a Benverly excerpt at the end, but that'll have to wait til the next chapter. As always, if you enjoyed, please leave feedback!


	15. Article

When Ben left the restaurant, he looked around. It didn’t take him long to spot Beverly, who was taking in slow, shaky breaths, her back pressed against the wall. She flinched upon hearing the door open, but visibly relaxed when she saw it was Ben, and gave him a weak smile.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to freak out like that,” she said quietly.

Ben shook his head and walked over to her. Beverly looked at him curiously, wondering what he was going to do. He shifted from foot to foot nervously, unsure, and then chose to stand beside her, back to the wall too. He sighed, unsure of how to phrase what he wanted to say. After a moment had passed, he faced her. 

“That wasn’t a freak out. Besides, you have every right to be scared. Getting a note like that, with your room details and all… I get it. Anyone would be terrified to get a note like that,” he reassured her.

She uttered a short, humorless laugh, and then hugged herself, as if she was suddenly cold. Chewing on her bottom lip, Beverly couldn’t quite meet Ben’s concerned gaze. She kept staring at the ground instead. 

“He can’t show up here. If he shows up, I don’t know if I’ll even make it down with you guys to the sewers. When I left home last night, I think if I didn’t stand my ground, he would have killed me. If he really does come to Derry, he’ll try to finish the job,” she said, her voice steady. 

Ben let out a shaky sigh. He couldn’t help but wonder how long Beverly had been struggling with Tom. When he heard that she was married, all he wanted was for her to be happy with whoever she had found, even if it did break his heart, but it hurt so much more to hear that she had been miserable, alone in her struggle. _Well, not anymore,_ he thought, and faced her. He decided that as long as she was here, he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her.

“That note was just another one of Pennywise’s tricks, but if he _does_ come to Derry, I’ll protect you with everything I have. Nothing bad is ever going to happen to you again, okay? I’m always going to have your back,” he told her.

For the first time in a while, Beverly smiled. She faced Ben properly too, and raised one hand to gently stroke his cheek. He froze up for a moment, surprised at the touch, but then leaned into her hand, feeling a type of happiness that had been lost to him since Beverly moved away.

“You haven’t changed one bit, Ben. You’re still so sweet. Back then, I was so scared of… well, everything. But any time you were around, you helped me briefly forget how scared I was. You always made me feel so loved. You have a wonderful heart, and I’m so glad I finally remembered you,” she told him quietly, and then looked away, suddenly shy, and added in a whisper, “You were my favourite thing about that summer.”

Ben let out a nervous laugh, and immediately reprimanded himself for reacting in an awkward manner. His face was turning red, and he already knew he had lost any tough façade he had tried to maintain while promising to protect Beverly. But, hearing her confession had brought back the familiar feelings from that summer so long ago, where everything she said caused his heart to skip a beat. 

Seeing how embarrassed he was caused Beverly to giggle. Then, she looked up at him with a serene expression. Leaning up, she pressed her forehead against his. She noticed how his breath came to a stop, knowing he was wondering what came next. Smirking, she leaned in closer, and stopped when her mouth was less than an inch away from his.

“We ought to go back inside before the others get worried,” she whispered, and pulled away.

“Yeah… I… Right! The others! They’re going to be worried!” he stammered, his voice a bit higher than usual.

They walked side by side, Beverly giving him a small nudge as they went inside. When he looked down, she beamed up at him once more. Teasing him had definitely helped to lift her spirits a little, but what mainly soothed her was how Ben still cared for her so deeply after all those years. And, she knew very well that she had been tempted to do something other than tease him when their lips had been that close.

Once they reentered the private room, Mike and Bill immediately got up from their seats. Bill laid a hand on her arm, looking to Mike to speak for the both of them. Stan, Richie, and Eddie were watching them silently, but looked relieved upon seeing that Beverly was no longer so upset. 

“I’m sorry about what happened. Are you okay now?” Mike asked.

“I’m okay, really,” Beverly said with a shrug.

She went to take her seat again, but paused when she saw that Mike remained standing. Ben and Beverly looked at each other, confused. They were even more lost when the other three stood up too. The pair looked at Mike for an explanation.

“Right, well, while you were away, I suggested that once dinner was finished, we should all take some time to individually explore Derry. Go back to a place that calls to you. It can be anywhere. Once you’re done, we can meet up at the library at around seven,” he explained.

Although it hadn’t been mentioned to Ben and Beverly, Mike had told Stan to take a trip outside of Derry for a few hours. Stan had put up no protest, having already received enough of a taste of Derry through the memories of the deadlights. Instead, he decided he would visit a nearby town with Patty. As for the others, though, they were now mulling about which areas they would potentially visit. Ben and Beverly had no objection to Mike’s idea.

With that, they left the restaurant. Mike joined the others after he had paid for the meal, and the seven of them walked back into the main town together. Eddie kept glancing down at Richie’s hand, which led Richie to the assumption that he was making sure that he didn’t attempt to rewind time. Given the harsh headaches he had been experiencing as a result, he had no issues with putting his rewinding on hold for the time being. Instead, he simply allowed himself to live in the moment, surrounded by his friends, and walking close beside the man he still cared for deeply.

Slowly, the group began to disintegrate as they went their separate ways, determined to get to the destinations they had in mind. Richie proceeded up the main street, with Eddie following for a while. Then, Eddie took a right turn, but briefly paused to give a small wave to Richie, who raised his hand in return. He kept that brief moment in his head as he walked towards the one place that was strangely calling to him.

He was alone by the time he reached the ice-cream parlour. The parlour had been the place that had called to him more than anywhere else. The one strong memory he had of the place was that it served as the first place that the Losers’ Club, as a full group, spent time together. He wondered if the others had chosen places which brought back worse memories, but he decided that there was nothing wrong in choosing somewhere that had once made him happy.

Inside, he could see that the parlour had been refurbished since he was last there. While it still upheld a vintage aesthetic, there was now more polished looking furniture. It didn’t appear to be as popular as it once was, as he recalled that the parlour was almost always full in his childhood, but as he looked in, he could only see two people; the teenage girl behind the counter, and another person, who was holding a newspaper in front of their face. He decided it was probably better that it was so quiet, so that he would have time to think in peace about what was to come. 

As he opened the door, a little bell tinkled above his head. The person reading the newspaper didn’t stir, but the girl at the counter looked up in curiosity. She smiled politely at Richie, who hesitantly made his way up to the counter.

“What can I get for you today?” she asked.

He paused, looking at the menu that was placed over the cash register. There were dozens of different ice cream flavours listed, as well as various sundaes. He quickly skimmed them, and then glanced over his shoulder. He saw that the other person just had a cup of coffee in front of them. He turned back towards the girl.

“Just a latte, please,” he asked.

She nodded and turned around, but then froze. She looked around the counter, and then swore softly under her breath. Richie could see her eyes go wide, realizing she had sworn in front of a customer, but he didn’t comment on it. Turning around, she looked at him apologetically.

“I’m so sorry, we must have _just_ run out of milk. I’m going to run to the store and get some more if you want to hang on for a minute?” she suggested, and then looked at him with some hostility, “But don’t even think of stealing anything. We have security cameras here.”

“My days of stealing are long behind me,” he said solemnly.

She looked at him apprehensively, tilting her head slightly. But, when he grinned, she realized he was joking and visibly relaxed. She brushed past him as she went to leave the parlour. Briefly, she looked over her shoulder, and pointed between her eyes and him, to gesture that she was watching. He held up his hands in defense, and she left.

He was curious about why she didn’t say anything to the newspaper reader, but he decided not to contemplate too much on it. Instead, he took a seat in one of the booths, sitting back and looking around. The only thing he could hear was the clock on the wall, and the occasional ruffle of the newspaper.

After looking around for a moment, his eyes fell on a framed newspaper article on the wall. At first he just glanced at it disinterestedly, but when he saw the title, he sat forward. He held his breath upon seeing the picture beside the article. It was a picture of Mr. Peterson, posed for a yearbook photo. The photo was grainy due to the fact it had been enhanced, but it was still easy to tell that it was the teacher who had gained and then betrayed the Losers’ trust. Richie then looked at the article that was written beside the picture: 

 

**BELOVED TEACHER STILL MISSING, OFFICIALS SAY**

Robert Peterson, 27, disappeared suddenly twenty-seven days ago. Volunteers have been searching for clues explaining Peterson’s disappearance, but have been unable to find anything. Police officials are concerned that Peterson is the latest to become victim to the string of disappearances, which includes George Denbrough, Betty Ripscom, and Patrick Hockstetter.

Peterson moved to Derry last October and taught history in the local school. In his time here, he has been a vital part of the community. His loss is greatly felt, but fellow residents are confident he will be found safely. When he returns, revenge will be carried out against the seven suspects; Bill Denbrough, Beverly Marsh, Ben Hanscom, Eddie Kaspbrak, Stanley Uris, Mike Hanlon, and Richie Tozier. Updates to come.

 

Richie had been reading the article with an unsettled feeling in his stomach, but he physically recoiled upon reading the final part. He knew it had to be fabricated, but seeing their names printed as clear as day, casually hung up on the wall of an ice-cream parlour, made it feel very real.

“Interesting article, isn’t it?" 

Richie turned at the sound of the voice, feeling his heart almost leap into his throat. He knew it was the man with the newspaper who had spoken, but he recognized that mild-mannered voice very well. It hadn’t been a voice he had heard since his childhood. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man lower his newspaper, but Richie already knew who it was. He could only stare in disbelief at Mr. Peterson, who was looking at him with intrigue. 

He hadn’t aged a day, still retaining that dirty blonde hair and large green eyes. The only difference now was that there was a circular scar in the center of his forehead where Richie had shot him. Staring at him, Richie was reminded of the agonizing despair he felt when he saw Bill get shot, and then the fury he felt when he pressed the pistol against Mr. Peterson’s head. At that moment, he wished desperately that he was still blissfully unaware of those unpleasant memories.

 _This can’t be happening,_ he thought, but he had known that he would encounter It again from the moment Mike called him. But now that he had finally come face to face with Mr. Peterson again, he was at a loss about what he could do. He had simply tensed up, placing one foot on the linoleum, preparing to run at the right moment. But, for now, he found he couldn’t move.

“I know what you’re thinking, Richie. You have time powers, that’ll save you from any imminent danger, won’t it?” Mr. Peterson continued. 

He laughed quietly to himself. Then, he got up from his seat and strode across to Richie. When he reached his seat, he glared down at him. The glare mirrored the one he wore after shooting Bill, the only difference being that he maintained his green eyes. Richie felt a chill run up his spine, remembering the first time he had seen Mr. Peterson with that expression.

“I hope you haven’t forgotten that you beat me with sheer dumb luck the last time. Your time powers are essentially useless. If you had any sense, you would go home,” the teacher sneered.

Then, the monster laid its hands over Richie’s own, which had become clammy. He felt something cold begin to slither around his hands. Looking down sharply, he felt paralyzed in his panic upon seeing spools of web curl around his fingers. He tried to move his hands, but just like before, he found himself unable to move them in the slightest. Slowly, he looked up, meeting Mr. Peterson’s eyes. Once again, they were that unnatural yellow, and its look of intrigue had been replaced by a desperate hunger. When their eyes met, Mr. Peterson grinned, revealing sharp, narrow teeth, thousands of which were crowded in his grin. 

Anticipating the end, Richie closed his eyes. For a brief moment, he could still feel its warm breath wafting into his face, but then, it was replaced by a chill in the air. The plastic-covered booth seat he had been sitting in was replaced by hard concrete. Between the coldness in the air, and where he was sitting, he didn’t dare open his eyes. He knew exactly where he was. Before he could begin to desperately wish to go back to the ice-cream parlour, he heard faint Beverly sobbing in the distance. He sharply took in a breath, where he caught a faint whiff of blood. Terrified, he held his breath from that point onwards.

Then, he heard the sound of someone wheezing beside him. He was tempted to open his eyes but knowing what would await him if he opened them was too much to risk. He heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Then, he heard Eddie’s voice.

“The thing is, I think I… I…” he said, this time as an adult, but sounding just as panicked as when he first said them.

His breathing became too shallow to continue. Richie knew right away that he couldn’t go through this entire experience again without losing his mind. With as much energy as he could muster, he attempted to move his hands, and much to his surprise, they broke away from the webbing with ease. 

He could feel the concrete beneath him mold back into the plastic covering once more. He could no longer hear Eddie’s wheezing or Beverly’s sobs, nor could he feel the cold chill in the air. Knowing he was back in the parlour, and far away from the horrors that had taken place in It’s lair, he finally opened his eyes. 

Mr. Peterson had taken a step back, but was still staring at Richie with those hungry, yellow eyes. With his heart hammering, Richie slowly stepped out of the booth, hoping to make his exit. Mr. Peterson watched him curiously for a moment. As soon as Richie stepped out of the booth, It stepped towards him, causing him to back away.

“You _know_ if you try to kill me again, you’ll face horrors beyond your nightmares. If you want to live... If you want to save your friend, you should leave _now_ ,” he warned, and then pretending to think, “ _Or,_ if I really can’t convince you, I’ll have my _fun_ with all of you.”

Richie froze for a moment, staring in terror at the creature, who suddenly looked very amused. It took another step forward, and Richie moved backward once more. It moved slowly, but then, Mr. Peterson’s expression twisted, contorted and became one of sheer rage. It lunged towards Richie, causing him to scream and scramble backwards towards the door. 

“ _You won’t win! You’ll die if you try! You’ll die—”_

Richie tumbled out of the ice-cream parlour backwards, on the verge of hyperventilating. He stared back into the window with wide eyes but could see no signs of Mr. Peterson. However, he knew there was no way he imagined it. All he knew was that he needed to find somewhere far away from the ice-cream parlour, but he quickly began to worry that no matter where he went in Derry, It would always find him.

He took another step backward, where a pair of hands caught him by the upper arms. Against his will, he let out another terrified cry. He knew that when he turned around, Mr. Peterson would be staring at him with that hungry look again, ready to strike.

“Richie! It’s just me!” Eddie cried, panicked, and turned him around.

Seeing that it was actually Eddie who had caught him, and not Mr. Peterson, made Richie nearly cry with relief. He took in Eddie’s pale face, as if he had just seen something that had terrified him as well. Briefly looking him up and down, he saw that the ends of Eddie’s coat were covered in a mud-like substance. However, Eddie didn’t seem to be focused on his own problems, as his terrified expression had been overshadowed by his concern for Richie, who he still kept a gentle hold on.

“What happened?” he asked softly.

“Fuck, I don’t even know how to explain it,” he began, unsure of where he was even going from that point.

Eddie continued to look at him expectantly, but Richie really had no clue how to put his experiences into words. As he was thinking, he spotted someone in the distance. He was relieved to see it was the cashier, carrying two plastic bags, which were weighed down by the bottles of milk. As she came closer, Eddie turned his head, letting go of Richie. The girl raised her eyebrows upon seeing Richie leaving the parlour.

“Where you off to? And are you okay? You like kind of pale,” she observed.

Richie let out a dramatic sigh, looking between Eddie and the girl. He threw his hands up in mock defeat. The two others eyed him up in confusion.

“I was _this_ close to walking off with everything I found in the cash register, but it looks like me and my partner are busted, aren’t we?” he said, turning to Eddie, who was now rapidly shaking his head.

“We didn’t steal anything, I swear he wouldn’t, and I didn’t even set foot in—” he began but stopped when he saw the girl roll her eyes.

“Very funny,” she said in a deadpan voice.

Eddie glared at Richie, realizing this wasn’t the first time he had riled her up about stealing money from the parlour.

“Anyways, I got the milk, so if you still want that latte, feel free to come in,” she offered and went back inside.

Richie looked inside hesitantly. He considered walking away, but when he saw that Eddie was looking inside too, he reconsidered. Eddie had clearly gone through something bad as well, and he figured that they could both take a little time to clear their heads. Putting a hand on Eddie’s arm, he tilted his head towards the door. Eddie nodded, and they went inside.

The girl watched the two men, unsure if whether or not she should start making coffee before the other man had ordered. Richie looked over at Eddie, who was reading the menu carefully. He saw he had stopped to read about a certain item, and then turned to Richie. He pointed to one of the sundaes listed.

“Do you remember that you had that one when we came here after the rock fight?” he asked.

Richie had forgotten until Eddie mentioned it, but as he read the list of what that particular sundae consisted of, he began to remember. There was far too much chocolate in it, to the point where it gave him a stomachache when he got home that night, but he remembered how good it tasted. He turned back to the girl.

“Actually, I’ll take a number fourteen instead,” he told her, and once he glanced at Eddie, he added, “Two, actually.” 

Eddie considered objecting, but then shrugged and nodded. Once Richie paid, Eddie walked over to the booth that Richie previously sat in. Richie followed with some hesitation, reflecting on what happened not too long ago. However, Eddie sitting there calmly made him feel a little less tense, and he joined him. A part of him was worried that It would come back to taunt them some more, but he decided that if It showed up again, he would rewind, take Eddie’s hand, and run out of the parlour as fast as he could. 

He didn’t notice that Eddie was still watching him with concern, as he didn’t try to conceal the worry on his face as he thought about It returning. Instead, Richie’s attention was drawn to the framed newspaper article on the wall. He furrowed his brows as he read the headline:

 

**DERRY FLAVORS CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF SERVICE!**

 

He didn’t bother reading the rest of the article. He saw that there was still a grainy picture attached, but instead, it was the parlour’s staff gathered together outside the front of the store. Looking away from the article, he knew he couldn’t have imagined the piece about Mr. Peterson. It looked just as real as the article now hanging on the wall.

“What is it?” Eddie asked softly.

Richie turned to him, and finally saw the concern in Eddie’s eyes. He felt both happy and embarrassed to have Eddie fret over him. Much to his bafflement, it had been so long, and yet Eddie still worried about him just as much, and he couldn’t understand why. But, then he thought about his own feelings, and realized that even though years had passed, it wasn’t unusual for some things to stay the same. However, he didn’t want to concern Eddie too much, so he just shrugged.

“It’s nothing, it’s just… well, earlier on, I saw an article about Mr. Peterson going missing on the wall,” he told him.

Eddie looked over at the article with alarm but relaxed upon seeing what it was actually about. He frowned, though, and continued to gaze at Richie with concern in his eyes. Richie looked away, still feeling embarrassed, but also, he found himself beginning to worry Eddie would press on with questions about what happened here.

“But really, it’s nothing. I’m fine. Well, some weird shit went down here, but hey, I’m still alive, right?” he rambled quickly, “So, where did you go? Did anything happen to you?”

He was thinking of the muddy ends of Eddie’s jacket, and how pale he was when Richie first bumped into him. Something must have definitely happened, he had figured. But, Eddie remained hesitant before speaking. As they sat there in silence, the girl came over with their sundaes. She placed them in front of them, not really taking notice of how quiet they were. Eddie picked up his spoon and took a small scoopful before speaking.

“I went to the old baseball field, just to do some thinking. It was all going okay, but then something did happen, but…” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t really want to talk about it, or even think about it anymore, or I’ll start freaking out.”

“That’s alright. As I said, we’re both still alive, aren’t we?” Richie said, trying to keep his tone bright. 

Eddie forced a smile at him, and continued eating his ice-cream. They ate in silence for a moment, but Richie wasn’t able to completely clear his mind. Something Eddie said had piqued his curiosity, which he knew wouldn’t go away until he asked Eddie about it. 

“Well, do you want to tell me about what you were thinking about at the baseball field, at least?” he asked.

Putting down his spoon, Eddie looked away shyly. Richie leaned forward, becoming even more curious.

“A bit about everything, really. The past, that strange snowfall earlier, weird weather here in general, your time powers, and, well, you,” he mumbled, unable to meet Richie’s eye.

Richie was about to question him about the snowfall he had seen, but his attention was drawn more to the last thing he had said. He could feel his face burning up, causing him to look away from Eddie too. A part of him wanted to let this lead into a serious discussion about how they felt about each other as kids, but another more dominant part of him felt the need to avoid serious discussions at all costs.

“You’ve been thinking about me a lot lately, huh?” he teased, grinning.

“I guess so,” Eddie muttered, even quieter than before.

He looked even more mortified. He looked down at his melting sundae and began to fidget with the ruby ring around his pinky. He twisted it around, focusing on that action more than anything else. Richie looked at it, and then decided now would be the ideal time for a subject change.

“Hey, can I see that ring?” he asked, pointing to the ruby.

Eddie nodded, placing his hand on the table for Richie to look. To get a closer look, Richie lifted his hand off the table, lightly holding onto his fingers. As he examined the ring, he failed to notice the small smile that had formed on Eddie’s lips, which he tried to hide. Richie turned his hand at slightly different angles to admire the ring. It didn’t look cheap, but it was nowhere near as tacky-looking as the plastic ring he had given him as a child.

“Not bad, Eds. Why’d you get it?” he asked.

Then, he realized he was still holding onto Eddie’s hand. Cringing, he pulled his hand away. Eddie raised his eyebrows. He moved his hand forward again, but then, pulled it back as well. Instead, he focused on explaining when he got the ring.

“Well, it actually started with the ring you gave me. When I moved away, I still kept that ring with me wherever I went. Whenever I felt suffocated by my mother, all it took was one look at your ring to remind me I wasn’t trapped forever. But, and I’m sorry to say it, I eventually forgot why that ring meant so much to me. It still meant a lot to me, but I just figured it was because it was a memento of my childhood.

“Then, when I was packing for college, it got lost somewhere in the process. I was _really_ upset about it, but I had no idea why. So, I promised myself that with my first big paycheck, I was going to buy a replacement ring. It took me a while, but I eventually saved up enough and got this,” he said, showing it off once more. “I wanted another red ring, even if it didn’t look like the one you gave me. And so, I’ve been wearing this one ever since.” 

Richie raised his eyebrows. He had just assumed Eddie had wanted to buy himself something nice, but he hadn’t figured that the ruby ring had any relation to the cereal box prize he had given him so long ago. The fact that he had kept that token in his life all this time, and found a substitute for it when it went missing, meant more to Richie than he could process. 

“Since I remembered you, I’ve begun to remember why that ring meant so much to me. Don’t get me wrong, I love the one I have, but I think I’m always going to like the one you gave me the best,” Eddie continued, and then laughed at himself, “Keeping onto something like that until college must sound pretty dumb, I know, but—” 

He stopped. Richie had reached into his own pocket and pulled out a familiar coin. Eddie’s eyes widened upon seeing the coin. He had completely forgotten about it up until recently, but as he began to recover his memories, he also remembered giving Richie that coin as a token of his gratitude.

“You really kept onto it all this time?” he asked, awed.

“Yup. Looks like we’re both pretty dumb, huh?” Richie said.

They both laughed, Eddie’s eyes still fixed on the coin. Then, he stopped, and inched his hand closer. Richie looked down briefly, and then back up at him. Eddie gazed up at him, something clearly on his mind.

“What is it?” he asked.

“It’s just that there was something else I was thinking about at the baseball field. I was wondering what if _I_ was the one with the time powers. I wondered if I rewound that day we got caught, if I took back the moment I ran away. If I never ran away, I wonder what if… if we could have…” he trailed off, and shook his head, frowning. “Never mind.”

Richie sat forward. He knew that he needed to hear Eddie’s thoughts. Ever since he had remembered his time in Derry, all he could think about was Eddie, and how different things might have been if they had stuck together after the blood oath. If Eddie had been wondering similar things, it was something he needed to know.

“What? What is it?” he asked desperately.

Eddie bit his lip, unsure of where to go from there. He regretted speaking before properly thinking about what he was going to say. He glanced around desperately, but then rose from his seat upon seeing someone passing the ice-cream parlour. Richie stood up too, confused.

“It’s Beverly! Hey, Bev!” Eddie called out, running towards the door.

Upon hearing shouting from inside, Beverly looked up. Richie saw that she was carrying a plastic bag that looked heavy. Eddie opened the door, and she glanced around the inside of the ice-cream parlour. Then, she raised her eyebrows at the two of them.

“You guys came here together?” she asked, furrowing her brows at them.

However, neither Richie nor Eddie were concentrated on her question. Instead, they stared at her teeth, which were covered in some type of blackish, brownish residue. She caught them staring and frowned.

“Don’t ask. I had a rough afternoon, and I really just want to forget about it and get back to the damn library,” she grumbled. 

“It’s okay, we won’t ask, but me and Richie went through some stuff too. Separately, by the way. I just came here after… well, what happened. I think all of us must have went through something. I guess It must be trying to scare us all, right?” Eddie told her.

“Well, that thing’s doing a great job,” she mumbled. “So, if you two weren’t together, why are you here now, Eddie?”

“I was just passing by, but Richie was already here. We got ice-cream, which I have to say, did help a little after being spooked like that.”

“Cute,” she commented, amused. 

“You want to get some too?” Eddie asked.

She shook her head and held out the plastic bag. Richie took it and raised an eyebrow at her before opening the bag.

“I’m good. I think I’ll stick to what I got,” she said.

Richie opened the bag, and Eddie peeked in too. There were three bottles of vodka. Both of them looked up at her, Eddie looking horrified, and Richie looking impressed.

“Okay, that’s not a bad idea,” he said. He looked at Eddie, and then back to Beverly, “I think we should get some too. It’s been a long day, and if It has anything else in store for us, I’d be better off drunk.”

Eddie gave no objection. Beverly nodded, and with that, the three of them left the ice-cream parlour. She walked in the middle, linking her hands in between her friends’ arms. After facing her own horrible experiences that day, she looked content to be in the company of people she trusted once more. Richie found himself glancing over Beverly’s head towards Eddie every few seconds, his mind still stuck on what he was going to say. At one point, Eddie’s eyes met his own, and for a while, they just looked at each other, knowing there was still so much unspoken between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, that turned out a lot longer than intended! The next part's going to take place in the library, which I had intended to include in this chapter, but given how long this one's gone on, I thought I'd move that to the next part. Also, I'm aware that Richie's powers have taken a backseat for the last few chapters, but that won't continue for much longer. As always, if you enjoyed, please leave a review! <3


	16. Final Night

By seven, everyone had made it back to the library. Nearly everyone seemed to be shaken up in their own way, leading Richie to believe that everyone had encountered It in some form, but nobody seemed to want to talk about it. Instead, they seemed to opt for Beverly’s idea, which was to get drunk and not think about it at all.

Although, Richie also realized not everyone had encountered It. Stan seemed to be much calmer than he was the previous day, as he explained that he and Patty went on a long walk just outside of Derry. He was surprised to see how quiet all the others were, but thinking about how he didn’t want to delve into his own recent rough experience, he decided not to press them on it.

Mike also seemed to avoid any encounters with It. By the time the others reached the library, it had been closed to the public, but Mike was still at his desk, deep in working on a project. As soon as he saw Beverly, Richie, and Eddie approach the front doors, he closed the books in front of him and went to greet them. 

After chatting for a few minutes, Ben eventually showed up too, which distracted Mike. As Mike went to speak to him, Richie’s eyes wandered over to his desk, where he saw a black leather book. Curiously, he wandered towards it. Beside the black book was a plainer looking composition book, which he wasn’t as interested in, but still turned to Mike.

“What’cha working on here?” he asked.

Mike jumped and scurried over to the desk, gathering the books in his arms. He brought them over to a safe behind the desk and unlocked it, looking over his shoulder apologetically at Richie.

“Sorry, this isn’t quite ready to be revealed to the world yet,” he said.

Richie watched as he relocked the safe. Mike hesitated for a moment as he considered sparking up a new conversation with the other three, but then, his attention was drawn to the front door as it began to creak open. Stan popped his head in, surprised to see that four of them had already made it to the library.

As Mike went over to greet him, Richie shared a conspiratorial glance with Eddie, who stared back at him with confusion in his eyes. Then, that confused look turned to panic as Richie slowly raised his palm. Without a second of hesitation, Eddie grabbed his hand and forced it back down to his side. His grip was tight, but even though Richie knew Eddie was just trying to keep him in check, his heart was still racing.

“What are you doing?!” he hissed.

“Don’t you want to know what Mike’s been so busy with?” Richie whispered back.

“Kind of, but not enough to invade his personal belongings. Besides, I thought you said you weren’t going to use your time powers unless the circumstances were life or death,” Eddie mumbled anxiously. 

Richie frowned upon hearing the worry in Eddie’s voice. He knew very well that the side effects of his time powers were worse than before, but he still sometimes felt the impulsive wish to use his time powers occasionally, regardless of the side effects. However, seeing how concerned Eddie was made him have second thoughts. 

“The curiosity is _killing_ me! This _is_ life or death, Eds!” he whined.

While he decided he wouldn’t rewind, he knew he could still tease Eddie a little. He slumped against him, holding a hand to his own forehead dramatically. Eddie rolled his eyes, but couldn’t hold back a smirk, which thrilled Richie to see. 

“You’ve always been so overdramatic, you know that?” he said.

As they were caught up in their own conversation, Richie and Eddie failed to notice that everyone’s attention was now on them. Stan simply sighed and shook his head as he looked at them. Beverly nudged Mike to go over and interrupt. Nodding at her, he walked over to them, lightly touching Eddie’s shoulder, which caused him to flinch. 

“I was just saying to Beverly and Stan that the staff lounge is just through that door, if you two want to go wait for Ben and Bill to arrive,” he explained, pointing to one of the doors between a pair of bookshelves.

Richie and Eddie shared a glance and then nodded. Stan and Beverly went to join them, and Mike told them he’d join them as soon as Bill and Ben arrived. As they walked into the staff lounge, Stan eyed up the plastic bag Beverly was carrying, curious about the clinking bottles inside. _Well, we’re in for an interesting night, anyway,_ Richie thought, as he looked over at the other three.

* * *

“Okay, Bev, that’s actual poison,” Stan said, putting down the drink Beverly had made him. 

Richie squinted at his own. Beverly had been in charge of all their drinks, which she made as soon as all the Losers were gathered in the staff room. The drinks she had made them were mainly made up of vodka, with a dash of cranberry juice. The main problem was that about three quarters of the glass was filled with vodka, making it practically undrinkable.

Beverly scowled as she looked around at everyone. Mike had barely looked at his before placing it on the table. Eddie gagged as soon as he smelt his. Bill had taken a polite sip, but didn’t seem intent on drinking anymore. The only one who had made a proper effort was Ben, who took a swig as soon as Beverly handed one to him. 

Once she handed them all, she stood there, looking around. There was no room left on any of the seats. Eddie, Bill, and Stan were occupying the sofa. Mike was occupying one of the armchairs, and Ben looked cozy in the other. Lastly, she saw Richie, perched on the arm of one of the sofas, sitting just above Eddie. Feeling a flash of inspiration after glancing at him, she sat herself down on the arm of Ben’s armchair. 

They looked at each other for a moment. For once, Ben didn’t look nervous, but instead, gazed at her warmly. Grinning down at him, she then shifted a little. She slid off the arm, and into Ben’s lap. That caused him to raise his eyebrows and his face turned a little red. However, he looked content, which caused Beverly to relax. He took another swig of his drink and wrapped an arm around her waist.

“Okay, okay, get a room,” Richie called out.

Ben finally looked flustered, hiding his face from the others, who were staring intently at the pair. Beverly glared at Richie.

“Do you ever take a break?” she snapped.

Eddie snickered at that. There was a quiet moment amongst all of them. Richie took the quietness as a chance to finally try Beverly’s concoction. He took one sip, and immediately felt a burning sensation in his throat. Struggling to swallow it down, he looked around, and spotted a potted plant directly behind the sofa. He reached over and poured the rest of the drink into the soil, deciding that was as much as he would drink that night.

“Hey, there’s no need for you to try and poison—” Mike began to scold.

“Okay!” Ben interrupted, sitting upright. “Mike, you still haven’t told us what life’s been like in Derry since we’ve been gone.”

Mike immediately understood that Ben was trying to prevent any further bickering. Wanting to keep up a light atmosphere, and to finally talk about something that wasn’t Pennywise, he began to describe what life had been like in Derry. He mainly talked about how he had become known as the librarian fascinated with Derry’s morbid history, and how he had spent much of his time talking to older residents about the past.

As the night went on, the Losers slowly began to discuss old stories from the years in between. They tried to keep to lighthearted anecdotes, as none of them wanted to think too deeply about the darker aspects of their lives, given what they knew was ahead. While the majority of them remained sober, still afraid to touch their drinks, Ben and Beverly became tipsier as the night went on, often laughing to themselves. Outside, the world was completely dark, but the room was dimly illuminated by a few lamps in the room.

Sometime during Stan’s story of how he and Patty met, Richie found himself looking wistfully between Ben and Beverly, who were very much lost in their own conversation at this point, and Eddie, who was listening intently to Stan. Richie found himself admiring the absentminded, but peaceful, expression on his face, his head slightly tilted.

“…So, both her parents and mine were ticked off when I proposed to her, since we were both only twenty-three, but… when you know you’ve found the right person for you, you know, right?” Stan recounted, smiling to himself as he thought of his wife.

Richie was still absentmindedly gazing at Eddie, but at this point in the story, Eddie glanced up at him quickly, and then glanced away again. Worried he was caught staring, Richie looked away suddenly, embarrassed. However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eddie look back up again, and smile at him. Then, he scooted over, making a tiny bit of space on the couch. 

At this point, he was no longer paying attention to Stan’s story. Even though he and Eddie hadn’t said anything to each other in the past while, he knew Eddie was silently trying to tell him to come sit next to him. There was hardly any room on the couch, and he knew that if he sat down, there’d be absolutely no space between them. However, he didn’t necessarily find this a bad thing. So, with no further hesitation, he nestled himself beside Eddie.

For a brief while, they looked at each other. Eddie looked like he was thinking of something to say. However, before he could say what was on his mind, Bill stuttered a few syllables, then became silent. The two men looked over at him, where they saw him staring at his phone, a worried expression on his face. Eddie reached over and touched his shoulder.

“Is everything okay, Bill?” he asked.

“I-I-I cuh-cuh-can’t contact A-A-A-Audra,” he fretted.

At that, everyone became quiet. Each of them figured that there had to be a simple explanation as to why she wasn’t picking up her phone, but all of them were also reflecting on what Mike said earlier that day about the possibility of Audra, Myra, or Tom following their spouses to Derry. Sensing the tension in the atmosphere, Richie cleared his throat.

“There’s a simple explanation, Big Bill. She’s off fucking one of her hot co-stars—” he began.

“That’s enough, Richie!” Mike quickly intercepted, and then turned to Bill. “I really don’t think you have anything to worry about. You did say she’s shooting a movie now, right? She’s probably busy with that. I know what I said scared you earlier, but that really is just a worst-case scenario. I have a good feeling she’s fine." 

Bill still looked unsettled but managed to smile weakly at Mike. Thinking back on his words earlier that day, Mike felt guilty about causing Bill’s worry. He got up from his seat and sat on the other arm of the sofa, laying a comforting hand on Bill’s shoulder. He began to talk quietly to him, Bill nodding as he listened intently. 

As they quietly talked, Richie looked over at them, thinking to himself. If he was being honest, he definitely thought that Audra not answering her phone was bad news. He wondered if he could try and use his time powers to find out, such as rewinding several hours and attempting to call her, but then figured that it would be best not to. If he _was_ right and Audra was on her way to Derry, possibly endangering her life, he wondered if he would, once again, be too cowardly to tell Bill. He lowered his gaze as he thought of how he hid the truth about Georgie from Bill. _I’ll just take the cowardly way out again, so what’s the point?_ he thought to himself.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on top of his own. He looked down, first seeing the ruby ring gleaming in the dim lamplight. Glancing up again, he saw the sympathetic look in Eddie’s eyes, and felt suddenly embarrassed. As he began to wonder how obvious he was about his self-pitying thoughts, Eddie then rested his head against his shoulder with a soft sigh. He looked deep in concentration as he tried to listen to Mike and Bill’s quiet conversation.

Richie was no longer invested in Bill and Mike’s conversation. Instead, he looked over at Eddie’s glass, wondering how much he had drank. He was surprised to see that he hadn’t had much. _Maybe he’s a lightweight,_ he thought, figuring that was the only logical reason for Eddie to rest his head against Richie’s shoulder. He decided not to question it and considered resting his head against Eddie’s for a while.

However, before he got the chance to decide, his attention was drawn to Beverly, who had suddenly stood up. She folded her arms and stared directly down at Richie with a disapproving look. He shifted uncomfortably. He noticed that Ben was also looking at him apprehensively, and the four others were now watching her curiously.

“Richie, can you come with me? I need help finding… something,” she said coyly.

“What are you looking for?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“A book. Now, come on,” she demanded.

“Well, I don’t think we’re going to find one of those here, of all places,” he muttered, gesturing to the shelves upon shelves of books just outside the door.

She glared at him, jerking her head towards the door. He had no idea what she wanted to talk about so suddenly, considering how invested she was in talking to Ben mere moments ago. He felt a pang of regret as he shifted away from Eddie and stood up, wishing he could savour the moment for a few more minutes. However, he knew Beverly was getting impatient to talk about whatever was on her mind, and he didn’t want to keep her waiting. 

Beverly remained silent for a while as they left the room, walking through the dark library. The only source of light was the glow of the lamp from the staff room, which was becoming further and further away. She eventually stopped by the main desk, leaning against a newspaper stand. Even in the darkness, Richie could see she was looking at him expectantly, but he had absolutely no idea why she called him out here.

“So, is this the part where we run away to be together?” he whispered.

Beverly usually responded to his teasing with some teasing of her own, but this time, she just kept staring up at him with that expectant look. He furrowed his brows.

“Okay, what gives? I can’t read your mind,” he groaned.

“Well, me and Ben were just having an interesting conversation. We got around to talking about this poem he wrote for me. I was telling him that writing that poem was still the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me, and he asked me, ‘How’d you know I wrote it?’”, she said, lowering her voice by an octave to imitate Ben for the last part.

“Uh… what poem? Where’s this going?” Richie mumbled, beginning to get nervous, as he was beginning to understand why Beverly wanted to talk to him in private.

“I’m getting there. So, I found what he said pretty funny, right? I was like, ‘You signed your name on it, dummy’. And guess what? He said he didn’t. He said it wanted it to be a secret. That got me thinking. If _he_ didn’t sign his name on his own poem, who did? Who’s the _one_ person I know that can interfere with fate? And who’s the biggest pest I know?”

 _Fuck,_ he thought, looking down at her. She had him cornered. He wanted to make a joke to distract her, but as he opened and closed his mouth, it took a much longer time than expected before any words would come.

“Hey, _pest?”_ he said, feigning offense.

Even though Beverly was much tipsier than he was, she still wasn’t an idiot. She caught onto his deflection immediately, and once again, she folded her arms and glared at him. 

“You _did_ do it! Why would you do something like that?!”

“Come on, Bev, if you got handed a poem from one of us, who would you think it was? You wouldn’t think it was Bill, since he’s the writer here?”

Beverly lost some of her fieriness at that and pursed her lips as she looked down at the floor.

“Okay, that might have happened,” she mumbled, and then sighed. “I’m torn. I kind of want to yell at you for invading Ben’s privacy like that, but…”

She trailed off, contemplating what to do. Then, she pulled him into a light hug. Richie simply stood there, unsure of what just happened. He was fully prepared to get an earful, but being hugged had caught him completely off guard.

“I think mainly, I want to thank you. If you didn’t interfere, I would have never known how much Ben cared for me. He made me so happy during that summer, and now that he’s back in my life, he brought that happiness back too. It freaks me out to think what would’ve happened if I never knew he wrote that poem in the first place, so… thank you, really,” she said quietly, embarrassed, as she and Richie were never the type to have meaningful conversations with each other. Then, she added, “You’re still the biggest pest I know, but you’re a helpful pest.” 

Richie wanted to make a joke, but at the same time, he felt sincere happiness upon having a genuinely touching moment with Beverly. He hugged her back for a moment and then let go. He grinned at her.

“Sounds like you and Ben are getting along pretty well right now, huh?” he said, nudging her. He was tempted to mention her husband, but after reading the note that had been in her fortune cookie, he figured that Tom was the last thing Beverly wanted to think about right now.

“Better than pretty well. He’s going to stay with me tonight, and if I’m honest, I think once this is all over, we’re going to leave together,” she told him, smiling bashfully.

“ _Someone’s_ getting laid tonight.”

“Of course that’s what you pick up from what I just said. Anyway, you’re wrong. I don’t think we’re going to do anything tonight. I just need to talk to him about Tom. Before you ask, I don’t think I can talk to anyone but Ben about it. But, I can tell you it’s taken coming back to Derry for me to realize _just_ how much of a mistake my marriage was,” she said. 

Once again, Richie thought about the note in the fortune cookie, frowning. When Beverly noticed the look on his face, she touched his arm, regaining his attention.

“Hey, can I say something?” she said, and paused briefly before adding, “I think Eddie’s facing the same problem right now. I saw the look on his face when Mike mentioned our spouses following us to Derry, and I just understood him perfectly.” 

“What are you saying?” Richie asked, genuinely confused. He had completely missed these signs that Beverly seemed to have picked up on.

“What I’m saying is, well, I think Eddie’s in the same complicated position as me right now. I’ve seen the way you two have been since we arrived in Derry, and frankly, I think he wouldn’t say no if you asked to spend the night with him. I think he needs someone, and that someone is obviously you.”

“Hey, wait, what?” Richie laughed nervously. “Why are you talking about Eddie as if he had a thing for me? We’re friends, Bev, that’s all.”

Beverly stared at him for a long, hard moment.

“I’ve always had my suspicions about you two, and honestly, the way you’ve both been acting around each other just confirmed all of them. Don’t lie to me now,” she said sternly. 

Richie took a step back, stunned. He had no idea how she had picked up on it. As kids, they always tried to be discreet about the fact that they had feelings for each other. Granted, in the past day, Richie hadn’t been particularly subtle about his feelings, but as far as he was concerned, Eddie had moved on. Beverly gazed at his shocked reaction, then softened her expression and continued talking.

“I’m serious, Richie. Talk to him,” she reiterated.

“Okay, fine. I will. Besides, if it goes disastrously, I can always rewind, right?”

“Right, but I don’t think you’ll have any need to. I see the way he looks at you. I know you’ve always been looking out for him, but I don’t think you realize just how much he cared, and still cares, about you. I know he’d do anything to keep you safe, and you’d do the same for him, right? That’s a great thing to have,” she murmured, and then uttered a soft laugh. “How did the two of us get so lucky to have people that care for us that much?”

Richie felt another strange pang in his heart. He realized, as Beverly spoke, that she was right. Eddie _had_ always cared for him, and in fact, nobody had cared for him that deeply in the twenty-seven years they had been separated. However, he also forced himself to keep in check that this was only a theory of Beverly’s, and there was no way of knowing whether or not she was right, unless he did have that private conversation with Eddie. He felt uncomfortable with all these realizations, and scowled at Beverly. 

“You know, you’re making me almost wish you yelled at me instead,” he mumbled.

“I can still do that if you want. I’m glad things worked out for me and Ben, but it was still so shitty of you to—”

“Okay, okay, I take it back! Can we just get back to the staff room now?”

Beverly looked at him smugly, glad that things had gone in the direction she had hoped for. As they walked together, Richie mulled over one more thing on his mind, and then bent down to whisper into her ear.

“Don’t mention anything about me and Eddie to the others, though. We were kind of trying to keep it a secret when we were kids, so keep it to yourself, okay?" 

There was silence for a moment, but then he was surprised to hear Beverly burst out laughing. He furrowed his brows, confused. When she finally stopped, she was still amused to see how lost he looked, but she then nodded.

“Sure, your secret’s safe with me,” she snorted.

While he was still confused at her strange reaction, he still felt relieved that she would keep it a secret. Together, they made their way back to the staff room, where the others were waiting, curious to know what that private conversation was all about. 

* * *

Shortly before one, everyone except Mike decided it was time to head back to the townhouse. Mike said he would stay behind a little longer to properly close up the library. Bill and Stan chose to order a taxi together, while Ben and Beverly opted to walk. The moment they opened the front door, however, they could feel the chill wafting in. Seeing Beverly begin to shiver, Ben quickly shrugged his coat off and wrapped it around her shoulders.

Richie watched all this, and then gazed back at Eddie, thinking about his earlier conversation with Beverly. At that moment, Eddie was dialing the number for a taxi, so he knew it would be now or never. Nervously, he reached into his pocket, turning the coin over and over. He knew he would either spend another night alone, or he would finally have some proper time alone with the man he still had feelings for.

Finally, he stopped fidgeting with the coin and laid a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. He decided to act on the spark of courage inside him before it flickered out again. Eddie looked at him, wondering what he wanted. Richie gulped, and took a deep breath.

“Uh, so, Eds, I was wondering if I could stay with you tonight,” he blurted out, already nervous to hear the response.

Eddie raised his eyebrows in surprise, but then, he smiled warmly.

“I’d like that,” he said quickly, and pressed the ‘call’ button on his phone to order a taxi.

Richie couldn’t quite believe that Eddie had said yes, and for the second time that night, he began to wonder if Beverly was right about Eddie’s feelings. He turned away from Eddie, smiling to himself. It had been the happiest he felt since he had first seen Eddie in the restaurant.

As they waited for their taxi to arrive, they sat in silence for a moment. Mike watched them from a distance, and then after a moment, he walked over to the pair.

“Richie, before you go, I just want to say this,” he began, “I really appreciate everything you’ve done for us, from saving us from It the first time, to saving Stan from killing himself. I know it hasn’t been easy, but know that having you here has made me feel much more confident about what’s ahead. Whatever you do with your powers, know that I trust your decisions with time completely.”

“Uh, thanks, Mikey,” Richie mumbled, taken aback by the sudden praise. He quickly tried to cover up his awkwardness by adding, “We made a pretty damn good team in that smokehole, didn’t we?”

Mike smiled at that, and nodded. Before anyone could add anything else, though, there was a sudden beeping from outside. Eddie tugged on Richie’s sleeve, indicating that it was time to go.

“See ya tomorrow, Mike! Don’t work too hard!” Richie called out as he and Eddie left the library.

The cab ride back was a silent one, and while Richie spent the majority of the ride looking out the window, he found himself frequently glancing over at Eddie. More than once, their eyes met. As they reached the townhouse, Eddie smiled warmly at him once more, and Richie felt a burning sensation in his cheeks.

They wasted no time getting back to Eddie’s room. As soon as Eddie opened the door, he walked over to the bedside lamps, switching both on. The lighting was quite weak, but it gave the room a serene, muted glow. Rubbing his eyes, Eddie kicked off his shoes, and laid down on the right side of the bed. Richie hovered by the door, unsure of what to do for a moment. Then, reminding himself that Eddie had no qualms about Richie coming back with him, he made his way over to the bed, and laid down on the left side.

Once again, they laid there in silence. Then, Eddie turned toward Richie, and Richie copied his actions. He noticed how tired Eddie looked, and understood why—it had been a long day, after all, and this had been the first time that they actually got to relax in the hotel room. 

“So, crazy day, huh?” Richie said in an attempt to break the silence.

“I’m still trying to process it all. I think we’re lucky to have made it back here in one piece,” Eddie said with a nervous laugh.

“Yeah? Starting to regret not staying home yet?" 

Eddie was quiet before replying, which made Richie nervous that he was approaching uncomfortable territory. 

“I don’t regret it. I mean, I’d rather come back here without all the horror returning too, but getting to see you again cancels out all the bad stuff,” he replied, his voice gentle. 

Upon hearing that, Richie was almost certain that he had simply imagined Eddie said that. As he felt himself begin to blush again, he knew that he was smitten much more than he originally realized. Somehow, though, hearing Eddie say that made dealing with those feelings much easier.

Eddie watched as Richie reacted, knowing that he had somehow managed to leave him speechless. He suddenly felt embarrassed, wondering if he had been too bold in what he said. Clearing his throat, he decided to quickly change the subject, instead of letting the silence grow between them. 

“Do you want to see a picture of my wife?” he asked quickly.

That quickly killed Richie’s brief elated mood. He tried not to show it on his face, though.

“Sure thing!” he replied cheerily.

 _I’d rather get eaten by Pennywise,_ he thought.

Eddie rummaged in his pocket and then pulled out his wallet. Flipping it open, he reached inside the plastic pocket and retrieved a small photo. He barely gave it a glance as he handed it to Richie, who reluctantly took it. However, as soon as he laid eyes on the photo, he began to examine it in surprise.

The first thing he noticed was Eddie, who was standing upright. In the photo, he was smiling, but Richie noticed that it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Not only that, he knew it was a faked smile. He had managed to make Eddie laugh plenty of times over the course of their childhood, and he knew a genuine smile of Eddie’s when he saw one, and the one in the photo certainly didn’t qualify. 

What really surprised Richie, though, was the woman standing next to Eddie. She stood a good bit taller than him and had a protective arm around his shoulders. As Richie examined her facial features, her build, and her hairstyle, he was instantly able to draw a resemblance between Myra and someone particular.

“Eds, did you marry your mom?” he asked before he could gain any control over what he was saying.

He quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, mortified. Since childhood, he had a problem stopping himself from saying anything that came to his mind, and although he thought he gained control over himself in adulthood, he still had moments where he slipped.

However, Eddie didn’t look offended. He did look a little embarrassed, but not angry. He reached over and took the photo back, examining it once more, before turning back to Richie.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to—” Richie began.

“No, you’re right. They could practically be sisters. And you know what the real funny part is? She acts _just_ like my mother, and it took leaving for Derry to realize that,” he said.

Staring at the photo for a moment longer, he sighed. Then, he crumpled up the photo, and threw it in the wastebasket next to the bed. Richie opened his mouth to speak, stunned at what Eddie had just done, but he held up a hand to stop Richie from interrupting.

“When I said I had to leave, she started crying and telling me that the only place I could ever be truly safe was with her. Just like my mother used to tell me. I thought I had freed myself from ma during that summer, but when we moved to Albany, I fell right back into my old habits. She convinced me that I was fragile. That I was sick. That I _needed_ her. So… when she died, I was lost, but then I found Myra, who always worried about me, who convinced me that I’d only ever need her, that I _was_ truly sick. You spent that entire summer convincing me that I could be free, and then I went and messed that all up,” he rambled, his voice becoming shaky as he went on.

“Eddie—" 

“I’m sorry, Richie. You saved me from dying when I was a kid, and then I went ahead and wasted my entire life believing my mother’s and wife’s lies.” 

 _“Hey!_ Quit that! I’ve done a lot of pointless shit with my time powers, but saving you was the best thing I ever did,” Richie objected.

He reached down and grabbed Eddie’s hands, staring at him pleadingly. Eddie gazed back at him, once again touched by Richie’s deep levels of caring.

“God, I’ve missed you so much,” he murmured, and then smiled weakly at him. “But, on a positive note, I’ve decided that I’m not going back home. I _can’t.”_

“That’s amazing news, Eds. After what you just told me about your wife, that’s the best thing you can do. See? Wasted life, my ass,” he said with a snort.

However, he quickly noticed that Eddie still looked a little uncertain. He slowly began to rub the pad of his thumb against Eddie’s fingers, causing him to look up once more.

“What’s the matter?” Richie asked.

“Well… the only real problem is that I don’t know _where_ to go, or what to do. I built up my entire life in New York, first with my ma, then with Myra, and my company’s in New York too. I don’t know if leaving my old life behind is going to be as easy as I want it to be.”

As soon as Eddie voiced his concerns, the seedling of an idea popped into Richie’s head. He knew it was a rash idea, but the moment it occurred to him, he knew he wanted to suggest it more than anything else. Taking a deep breath, he willed himself to speak.

“Come back to LA with me,” he suggested, his voice loud and clear.

_“What?”_

“You heard me. I know it’s crazy, but… but now that you’re back in my life, I don’t think I can say goodbye again. You run a limo company for celebrities, right? And guess what we have tons of in LA? _Celebrities._ And not only that, I have a huge apartment with a guest room, so you can stay there while you get started up. This all sounds insane, but it’s the perfect way to leave your old life behind, and I’ll always be there to support you—” he rambled, but then stopped when he saw that Eddie had opened his mouth to speak. 

“Is it even crazier if I say that’s what I want to do?” Eddie inquired, his voice full of awe.

In that moment, Richie finally left all his fears of asking Eddie to come back to LA with him. Instead, he finally allowed himself to notice the hope that filled Eddie’s eyes, and knew that Richie had just him with the best possibly opportunity to leave his old life behind. Letting out an excited cry, Richie pulled Eddie closer and laughed giddily.

 _No more loneliness,_ he thought, beaming. _No more nights of just rehearsing for upcoming segments, watching sitcoms, and going to bed. Even if Eddie just moves in as a friendly roommate, I’ll be okay with that. Having him back in my life is more than I could ever ask for._

As these thoughts floated around his head, his attention was slowly drawn back to Eddie, who now looked uncertain again. All at once, Richie’s hopes came crashing down. Although he was nervous to hear his new thoughts, he still lightly brushed his arm.

“What is it now?” he asked.

“Okay, this sounds great, but the more I think, the more I realize there are going to be problems,” Eddie mumbled doubtfully.

“What kind of problems?”

“I… I, look, I have something to tell you that could complicate all of this,” he confessed, and then sternly added, “If you laugh at me for this, I’m kicking you out.”

“Hey, I won’t! Just tell me already!”

“Okay, here goes. I don’t understand _how,_ since it’s been twenty-seven years, but… as soon as I regained my memories of Derry, I realized I still had feelings for you. I thought it was silly, but from the moment I saw you, I knew it wasn’t just my imagination. I still like you, Richie. I don’t know if you like me, but I don’t think I can live with you and try to get over how I feel all at once,” he said bashfully, staring nervously at Richie to gauge his reaction.

Richie stared at him dumbfoundedly for a moment, unable to process what he was hearing. Then, he laughed happily again, cupping Eddie’s cheeks in his hands. He pressed their foreheads together. Finally, he could allow himself to freely show affection towards him once more, no longer plaguing himself with thoughts of Eddie’s life back in New York. 

“What is it?” Eddie asked, still nervous.

“I obviously still like you too. I thought I made that obvious enough,” Richie said.

He laughed again, and this time, Eddie joined in, feeling a similar kind of elation. Then, he stopped, but there was still a small smile on his face.

“We can’t actually do this, right?” he whispered.

“Hey, Eds, in case you forgot, I can _rewind time_ and you once took down an immortal demon clown. There’s hardly anything we can’t do,” Richie reassured him, “You can do whatever you want.”

Eddie gazed at him for a while. Then, thinking hard about Richie’s last statement, he decided what he wanted to do in that moment more than anything else. He leaned over slowly and brushed their lips together in a gentle kiss. They remained like that for a few seconds before pulling away. They gazed at each other, both thinking the exact same thing.

Then, they both leaned in again. They kissed once more, this time more fervently. Richie wrapped his arms around Eddie’s waist, pulling him in closer. As the kiss deepened, Eddie gently ran his hand up Richie’s thigh, and kept it in place. They only parted to take a quick breather before resuming, hearts racing. They knew now that they had been missing out on each other for an impossible amount of time. After Richie had felt alone, and Eddie trapped, for all this time, they finally managed to find each other again. And, as they kissed, they knew that they would never let each other go again.

Richie had no idea how far they would go that night. All he knew was that he didn’t want the night to end. He didn’t want to face any immortal demons or deal with his time powers any longer, all he wanted was to stay with Eddie. He was lost in the bliss of the moment.

He pulled apart to take another breath. As he did so, Eddie reached up and stroked his cheek, and Richie took a moment to gaze at him. _I was right during that eclipse. Everything about him is beautiful,_ he thought, and leaned back in to kiss him, which Eddie returned enthusiastically.

However, this kiss was much shorter. All of a sudden, there was a loud pounding on the door. Eddie quickly broke the kiss. His face turned red, as if they had been actually caught. Richie groaned and glanced towards the door, hoping it was just a wrong caller, and that the caller would go away, and they could resume where they left off.

“Mr. Kaspbrak? Are you awake?” the person on the other side of the door called out.

Eddie sat up, surprised to hear that someone was looking for him at this late hour. He glanced at Richie, who shrugged in confusion.

“It’s about your wife,” the person said.

Eddie and Richie shared a worried glance. Richie felt a pang of irritation. _Of course. Just when Eddie decides to leave her in the past, she shows up,_ he thought. But, seeing the look on Eddie’s face, he knew the best thing for him to do would be to check and see what the person wanted.

Hesitantly, Eddie got up and approached the door. Unlocking it, he poked his head out. Richie watched this from the bed, craning his head to gain a better hearing of the conversation. However, he quickly realized there was no conversation. The person on the other side of the door had no news. 

Then, before Richie could fully understand what was going on, Eddie let out a choking sound. He was led backward, and Richie saw there was now a veiny hand wrapped around his throat. Eddie was thrust back against the wall. Heart hammering, Richie stood up, holding his palm out, ready to rewind.

However, he froze once he saw the man strangling Eddie. He had white hair, but he only looked like he was in his forties. It took Richie a moment to realize who it was, but ultimately, the fiery, malicious expression on the man’s face was what made Richie realize who it was.

Richie stood in paralyzed fear as he watched Eddie struggle against Henry Bowers, their childhood bully, and the man who was meant to be locked away in Juniper Hill.


	17. Accomplice

* * *

Richie remained only paralyzed for a second. Then, pure fury took over. He had no idea how Henry managed to escape from a psychiatric word, or how he managed to find Eddie’s room, but none of that mattered. Right now, Eddie was being strangled, and badly needed help.

Looking around frantically, his eyes fell on the closest bedside lamp. He stood up deciding that he would move the table to unplug the lamp to use as a weapon against Henry. However, when he tried to move the table, he panicked upon realizing it wouldn’t budge. There wasn’t enough hand room to reach behind and unplug the lamp without moving the table. He tried to move it again, but it only budged a little. He gave another yank, and it budged a little more. There wasn’t a large amount of hand room, but it was enough to squeeze his hand in and unplug the lamp.

He was anything but calm as he carried all this out. His hands were shaking and he felt his chest tighten as he listened to Eddie’s failing attempts to catch his breath as Henry squeezed his throat. Richie knew time was of the essence. _If anything bad happens to him now, I’ll never forgive myself,_ he thought.

When he successfully unplugged the lamp, it dimmed the room even more. He felt a brief wave of triumph as he lifted the lamp up, ready to attack Henry. However, as soon as he held the lamp, he suddenly realized he no longer heard Eddie struggle for breath. Then, there was thump. Richie’s grip tightened around the lamp’s base, willing himself not to turn around, as he knew what he would see. 

Then, he heard someone step forward.

“You fucking lied to me, Trashmouth! You told me you’d save my friends, but they’re fucking _dead_ and I just got out of fucking hell! I was there because of _you!”_ Henry snarled.

Taking a deep breath, Richie finally turned around. He saw Henry now slowly pacing toward him. He had a mad look in his eye. His clothes were splattered with blood, and he quickly glanced over him to see if he was brandishing a weapon of some sort. He didn’t have any visible weapon, and he couldn’t recall hearing any gunshots or stabbing sounds. 

As he wondered how Henry could have possibly gotten blood on him, his eyes wandered towards Eddie, who was now slumped in the corner, facing away from him, no longer breathing. Just like the previous times he saw Eddie die, he felt a horrible aching in his chest, and a lump form in his throat. He thought after reversing so many bad events that he would have grown numb to witnessing them by now but seeing Eddie motionless hurt him more than anything else. _I can’t ever let anything happen to him again,_ he thought.  Shaking, he raised his palm, determined to undo what had happened.

For a moment, he feared that Henry would lunge forward and stop him. Miraculously, that didn’t happen. Instead, he rewound, intending to go back to the moment there was a knock on the door. However, by the time he reached the second that Eddie went to open the door, he felt that searing pain in his head once again and had no choice but to let go. 

Much to his relief, he saw that he was still holding the lamp, meaning that he wouldn’t have to waste time trying to unplug it again. As soon as Eddie began to open the door, Richie strode forward. He saw Henry’s hand reach out, and once again, wrap around Eddie’s throat. This time, however, Richie wasn’t delayed by paralyzing fear or trying to retrieve a weapon.

Instead, he swung the lamp forward, hitting Henry over the back of the head with the base. There was a harsh crack, and Henry let out a savage cry. He stumbled towards the wall, where he landed with a thump, and then fell to the ground, clutching his head as he roared. Richie advanced on him, ready to hit him again, but his attention was drawn away as he heard Eddie wheezing. 

“Is… Is that…” he gasped. 

“Henry. I don’t know how he got here, but he’s down,” Richie reassured him.

Eddie stared in disbelief at the man on the ground, who was still clutching his head. He squinted upon seeing the blood on his clothes, and in a panic, ran his hand over his own body, but felt no wounds. Henry’s screams dwindled down to low grunts. They watched as he crawled forward, limply raising a hand. Richie knew that Henry wasn’t physically capable of causing much damage in his current state, but as he remembered what he had just done to Eddie, he felt a flash of rage, and whacked the base of the lamp against his head once more.

Henry let out a final pathetic whimper before slumping over on the carpet. Richie dropped the lamp, feeling relief wash over him. He didn’t know whether or not Henry was dead, but even if he was just unconscious, it was good enough for him. Eddie stared down at Henry too, fumbling with his inhaler before letting off a blast, and then massaged his throat. He looked over at Richie, seeing the exhausted relief on his face, and began to worry about what he had seen.

“Did you have to rewind?” he asked softly.

Richie hesitated, but he then nodded. That was enough confirmation for Eddie to know that, once again, he had met some terrible end, and Richie had been the one to come to his rescue. Eddie examined his pale face, knowing that he had put his health at risk. Letting out a sigh, he wrapped an arm around Richie’s waist, pecked his cheek, and then laid his head against his shoulder, still gazing down at Henry’s unconscious form. 

“I don’t know why danger always seems to find me, but… thank you for saving me again,” he mumbled.

“I’m always going to try and save you, Eddie. You should know that by now,” Richie replied. 

Eddie didn’t reply, but instead he continued to gaze down at Henry, he was still curious about the blood splatters. He examined him for a while, and then, he lifted his head from Richie’s shoulder upon spotting something sticking out of Henry’s pants pocket. It looked like a white slip of paper, which had been slightly tarnished by blood. He knelt down by Henry.

“What is it?” Richie asked, confused.

After holding up a hand to shush him, Eddie reached slowly into Henry’s pocket, holding his breath. He felt like he was reaching over to pet a sleeping rabid dog. Biting his lip, he reached for the slip of paper, holding it between his thumb and forefinger. Slowly, he pulled it out, and scrambled back to Richie’s side, letting out a sigh of relief that Henry hadn’t woken up. 

Richie watched as Eddie unfolded the piece of paper, which had been folded into quarters. When he opened it, both of them stared at it in disbelief for a moment, and then looked at each other with wide eyes. The piece of paper had read:

**A FRIENDLY GUIDE FROM YOUR FRIEND PENNYWISE!**

  1. ~~Mike Hanlon—Library~~
  2. Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier—Townhouse, Room 643
  3. Bill Denbrough—Townhouse, Room 213
  4. Beverly Marsh—Townhouse, Room 351
  5. Ben Hanscom—Townhouse, Room 342
  6. Stan Uris—Townhouse, Room 255



The first thing that Richie and Eddie realized was that Pennywise had helped Henry escape from Juniper Hill, and that it must have been using Henry as a tool to get rid of the Losers. However, with Henry unconscious, that was only a secondary concern.

At that moment, their highest concern was Mike’s name at the top of the list, which was now crossed out. As they looked back down at the blood splattering on Henry’s clothes, it dawned on them that he had visited Mike first, and given that he made it to the townhouse, he must have been victorious against Mike. Eddie nervously began to wring the piece of paper in his hands, looking at up at Richie fearfully.

“Richie, we need to call Mike. He could be hurt, or… or…” Eddie stammered.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Think about it. How long does it take to get from the library to here? If Henry managed to get this far, and Mike hasn’t contacted us yet, I think it’s already too late,” Richie said quietly.

With that, he closed his eyes, that nauseated feeling returning. He still hadn’t fully recovered from witnessing what happened to Eddie, and seeing that even after rewinding he had lost one of the Losers was a hard-hitting blow. Mike had lived with the trauma of that summer for so long, waiting on the others to return, only to meet his end at the hands of a cowardly bully, who had wanted to hurt him all those summers ago.

“I have to go back,” Richie murmured to himself, staring down at his hands.

Eddie nodded, blinking back tears as he thought of Mike. He knew this was the only thing Richie could do now. He couldn’t fathom the possibility of losing any of his friends. As he gazed at Richie, though, another concern occurred to him. He knew it was miniscule, and he would still encourage Richie to rewind, but he needed to inquire about one more thing.

“You still need to go ahead no matter what, but does this mean I’m going to forget our conversation tonight?” Eddie asked. 

Richie realized he hadn’t thought of that. He was about to tell Eddie that he definitely going to forget, but then something occurred to him. Glancing down at the lamp on the floor, he recalled how it stayed with him as he rewound, due to the fact he was holding it. His mind went further back then, thinking of the Smokehole, where the others were capable of traveling back with him. Unable to shake the idea away, he decided to pitch it. 

“I think I might be able to take you back with me if you don’t mind a bit of motion sickness,” Richie offered.

He expected Eddie to be hesitant, considering how finnicky he got at the idea of putting his health in danger, and how he had seen a lot of the physical effects Richie’s powers had. However, Eddie didn’t hesitate at all. He nodded and furrowed his brows as he tried to think of how they could go back together.

Richie knew that the longer they waited, the worse the effects of rewinding would be. So, instead of letting Eddie think all the way back to the Smokehole, Richie reached over and took his hand, holding it tightly. Eddie gazed up at him curiously, but Richie didn’t say anything. He closed his eyes, and then curled his free hand into a fist. 

Then, he started to focus himself in the moment before he and Eddie left the library. He started to imagine the chill in the outside air, which they were briefly exposed to as Ben and Beverly left. He imagined the dim outlines of the books, stacked neatly on the shelves, their titles impossible to read in the darkness. Slowly, it started to become more real for him, and throughout the entirety of the return to the library, he still felt Eddie’s hand in his own, which kept him calm as he thought about what awaited them in the library. 

As he slowly began to open his eyes and let Eddie’s hand go, he heard a gentle voice. 

“I really appreciate everything you’ve done for us, from saving us from It the first time, to saving Stan from killing himself. I know it hasn’t been easy, but…” Mike trailed off, his calm look replaced by one of concern. “Richie? Are you alright? You look pale.” 

Richie quickly realized that he was re-experiencing listening to Mike’s kind words before he and Eddie left the library, where Henry would soon attack.  Even though he hadn’t witnessed Mike’s demise, he still felt an overwhelming surge of relief upon seeing him alive and well once more.

However, Mike had caught onto something quickly. Once again, Richie’s time powers were having a negative physical effect, as he felt himself grow lightheaded. _I can’t let that get to me now, though, I have to help him,_ he thought. He knew that if he let weakness take over now, it could have disastrous effects for Mike, and this time, he’d be forced to witness anything bad that happened to him. 

“I’m fine, really, but we need to… to…” he said, suddenly feeling that lightheadedness grow more intense.

Mike and Eddie watched with concern as he took a step forward, and then immediately stumbled back. He landed against a display of tourist pamphlets. Before he could fall, Eddie quickly caught him and pulled him up, keeping a protective arm around his waist. He looked at him with worry in his eyes. Now alarmed, Mike ran over to the two other men, gently touching Richie’s shoulder. He was about to reiterate his question about Richie’s wellbeing, but then, something occurred to him.

“You had to rewind, didn’t you?” he asked quietly.

Richie nodded. Mike sighed, closing his eyes. He shuddered as he thought about why Richie would rewind back to the moment before he left the library. He didn’t like the results he came up with.

“Okay, take it from the top,” he instructed.

For Eddie’s sake, Richie decided to leave out the part about what they were doing before Henry arrived. Instead, he delved into the sudden knock at the door, Henry’s attack on Eddie, managing to beat Henry, and then discovering the list with Mike’s name crossed out. By the time he finished speaking, Mike looked as if he were in deep contemplation, but couldn’t hide how scared he looked after hearing what had possibly happened to him.

He knew this wasn’t the first time Richie had rewound on an untimely end of his, but it still scared him to think of how he had actually died. He knew for certain it would have happened if it wasn’t for Richie, as he was planning on writing up some notes before going home, leaving his back vulnerable to any attackers. 

“So, what do you think?” Richie asked after Mike had remained silent for a while.

“I don’t understand how I didn’t see this coming. Of _course_ Pennywise would find some way to use Henry as an accomplice. Henry’s probably wanted revenge against us since that summer, and if he managed to pick us off one by one, that would save Pennywise a lot of trouble, wouldn’t it?” Mike mused. 

“We can think about all of that later, but for now, we need to figure out what to do, right? He should be here soon, shouldn’t he?” Eddie said, his voice full of worry.

“We have to take him down. As long as he’s associated with Pennywise, he won’t stop until we’re all dead. If we’re going to take It down, we have to get rid of Henry first, right?” Richie suggested uncertainly. 

He was worried his suggestion wouldn’t be viewed as a viable option, but Eddie and Mike appeared to pose no objection. They nodded, both of them thinking back on their recent deaths that Richie had described. Now that they knew Henry and the monster were aligned, they knew that Henry wouldn’t stop until the Losers were dead, meaning that they had to act first.

“Okay, so… who’s going to do it?” Mike asked, glancing at the two men.

Richie opened his mouth to speak, but after seeing the sharp look Eddie gave him, he immediately closed his mouth.

“You can’t do it, Richie. If you’re not fully recovered, I don’t feel comfortable with you trying to fight him,” Eddie said sternly.

“It’s between me and you then, Eddie. Who should it be?” Mike asked once again.

They looked at each other uncertainly for a moment, and then over at Richie, hoping he would be the one to make the decision. As they looked at him, he began to fiddle with the coin in his pocket once again, realizing that he had to choose someone to kill Henry. He glanced between both of them, weighing up his options. 

 _Both of them deserve revenge. They were both killed by Henry tonight, so it’s only fair one of them takes him down. Not only that, Eddie was killed by Henry_ twice. _But Mike didn’t exactly get an easier time, since Henry cut him up good before I rewound to the rock fight… fuck, what do I do?!_ he thought in a frenzy. 

Then, he took a deep breath, trying to think rationally. _Okay, who’s physically stronger? It’s got to be as easy as that._

Finally, he stopped fiddling with the coin and looked over at Mike. 

“You okay with doing it?” he asked.

“Of course. If he’s trying to hurt all of you, I’m not going to just stand around and let it happen,” Mike replied with determination in his voice.

“How are you going to do it, though?” Eddie piped up. 

Mike held up one finger to indicate he’d be a minute. He walked back to his office, leaving Richie and Eddie alone. They stood there in silence for a moment, unsure of where to begin. Eddie opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, there was a noise outside that startled them both.

They flinched upon hearing the sound of a car screeching up close to the library, which was them accompanied by the loud slam of a door. Eddie looked at Richie with wide eyes, and mouthed, _‘Henry?’._ Richie glanced out the window, hoping that it was just some drunk driver. 

Unfortunately, Eddie was right. There was a Chevrolet poorly parked on the grass, and storming up towards the front door was Henry Bowers, awake and furious once more. In the moonlight, something gleamed in his hand. Richie realized instantly what it was. _Motherfucker got his switchblade back,_ he thought, staring in disbelief. 

“What do we do?!” Eddie whispered anxiously.

There was still no sign of Mike. Even though Richie had chosen him to take down Henry, he knew that the task was in his and Eddie’s hands for now. He scanned the library in a panic. Then, his eyes fell on an object that laid on the main desk. It looked to be a leather-bound logbook, and judging by the quantity of sheets, it looked heavy. He gave Eddie’s hand a squeeze, and then pointed towards the book.

Nodding, Eddie ran over, grabbing the book. He looked at Richie questioningly for further instruction, but before Richie could think of anything else, the sound of Henry’s footsteps grew closer and closer, and he knew he had to act on impulse. He pointed to a potted plant close to the door. Eddie ran over, holding the book in front of him like a shield. 

Facing the door, Richie could feel his heart hammering against his chest. He would be the first thing Henry saw when he entered the building, and he knew that he was nowhere near strong enough to win in a fight against him. He kept his shaking hands at his side, ready to rewind if his life came was in imminent danger. 

The door burst open. Richie took in a deep breath, and then, grinned at Henry. The bully was standing there in disbelief, wondering if he had misread the note left for him by Pennywise. Richie was supposed to be in a hotel room with Eddie at that moment, but instead, he stood in the library with that shit-eating grin that had driven Henry insane in his childhood.

“’Sup, Bowers? Nice bald patch. Time’s sure been cruel to you, huh?” Richie teased, unable to help himself. 

With an angry roar, Henry charged forward. Richie braced himself, instantly regretting his impulse teasing. However, Henry only managed to stride two steps towards Richie. Eddie lunged out from behind the plant, holding the book up high, and then brought it down with a loud thump. Clutching the back of his head, Henry fell to his knees. Eddie slammed the book against his head once more, causing him to fall on his face, still angrily crying.

All the while, Richie watched in awe. He found himself giddy at seeing Eddie attack Henry with no qualms. Hearing Henry’s screams once more brought him a sense of vindication. Even though Henry was a lackey of It, he was still no match for the Losers.

Richie eagerly ran to Eddie’s side, holding him by the arms. He knew running was a bad idea, since he was still feeling dizzy, but he couldn’t help himself. Eddie gazed up at him with equal eagerness, proud of what he had just managed to accomplish.

“Oh my god, Eddie, that was fucking incredible! You should’ve seen how you looked when you—” he began, but then froze.

There was something slithering around his ankle. Looking down slowly, he saw Henry’s face, which was contorted with fury. He was trying to drag himself back up with one hand. In the other hand, he still held his switchblade. Glancing at it, he decided to press the knife against Richie’s calf. While Richie couldn’t feel any pain, due to his trousers acting as a barrier, he still found himself bracing for the worst. 

“Kill you all,” Henry snarled, “Teach you little shits to throw rocks—” 

 _“Enough!”_

Richie, Eddie, and Henry all raised their heads. Mike stormed out of his office, a frantic look on his face. There was sweat dripping down his brow, but he didn’t appear hesitant. Instead, he strode briskly towards the man on the floor. It was only when Mike reached their side that Richie saw what he was holding; the pistol.

He almost stumbled backwards upon seeing it. His mind instantly recalled the sensation of holding the pistol against Mr. Peterson’s head, and everything he had witnessed before he rewound. The sound of the bolt entering his friends’ heads still resonated in his mind. 

He watched numbly as Mike held the pistol against Henry’s temple, taking in deep, frantic breaths. Henry let out another scream, beginning to thrash. Mike realized that he had less than five seconds before Henry would manage to scramble away. Knowing that there was no more time to think, Mike pulled the trigger instead. There was a deafening clamping sound that resonated throughout the library. Henry became motionless, his eyes wide open. The bloody mess under him indicated all the three men needed to know; Henry Bowers was finally dead.

Eddie stared down at the body, feeling nausea rise at both the sight and smell. However, he forced himself not to show a blatant physical reaction as soon as he looked over at Richie. He could see that Richie was staring down at the body, but his mind was elsewhere, and Eddie knew instantly that he was revisiting a bad memory. He felt terrible that Richie had to carry this burden alone, as he was the only one to remember what initially happened during their first disastrous attempt to fight It. He wrapped an arm around Richie’s waist and laid his head on his shoulder. After a few seconds, he could feel Richie’s shoulders begin to slump, indicating a return to calmness. 

However, their attention was drawn away from each other as they looked over at Mike, who still held the pistol in his hands. He was still sweating, despite the chill in the air. He bit his lip, looking away from the body. Richie and Eddie immediately moved to his side. Eddie laid a comforting hand on his arm. As he did so, he looked down at the body, his eyes fixated on the weapon that was once used against him. After a moment of consideration, he leant down, picked it up, and pocketed it. Then, he turned back to Mike.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.

“I kept this pistol with me since that summer. My dad always wondered why I wanted to keep onto it, but I could never give him an answer. But I’ve always known that the true answer is that I was _always_ prepared for the danger to return. And that danger returned tonight, but… it’s taken care of,” he rambled, and then frowned. “Well, this danger, anyway. I did what I had to do. I meant it when I said I’m not letting Henry or It hurt any of you.”

Richie and Eddie both knew that Mike was reeling from the shock of what he had just done. But, all three of them knew that he had done the right thing. Once Mike got over the initial shock, he would finally be able to leave the boy who terrorized him behind. Until then, though, the other two men knew that he needed support.

Reaching over, Richie began to copy Eddie’s motions, as he gently rubbed Mike’s other arm. At first, all his attention was drawn to him, but something quickly took that attention away. Against the window, there was a faint pattering sound. Looking over, Richie could see raindrops beginning to fall. At first, it appeared to only be a light drizzle, but then the rainfall became more intense, the pinging sound against the roof sounding furious and insistent. 

He glanced over at Eddie questioningly. When they were in the hotel room, it hadn’t begun to rain. This was an unexpected change, and Richie frowned, wondering if this was connected to the snowfall of the previous day. He shook his head, quickly pushing the thoughts away, as he looked back at Mike. _The weather really isn’t important right now,_ he thought.

As he examined Mike, he was relieved to see he was beginning to look a bit calmer. He raised his head, looking between his two friends.

“Thank you both, but I’m fine. Right now, we need to contact the others,” Mike insisted.

Richie and Eddie knew that was the right move. If the others had known what was going to happen here tonight, none of them would have left the library, and instead, helped fight alongside the three men. Even though it was too late for that, they knew that the rest of the Losers would still be there to provide support.

He pulled out his phone, beginning to quickly type out a message to the group. Once he sent it, he looked back up at Richie and Eddie. None of them spoke, but they didn’t need to. In the silence of the room, they were trying to process how they had all narrowly escaped with their lives, due to the help of one another. All that could be heard was the pattering rain.

* * *

Everyone else arrived approximately fifteen minutes later. They were soaked due to the rain outside, which had become even heavier in the last while, now accompanied by a gale that only grew more powerful as time went on. Once they arrived, Mike quickly explained what had happened.

As Mike explained, Richie looked at each of them. Bill still clung tightly onto his phone, as his main concern was the fact that Audra still hadn’t contacted him. Henry was clearly a secondary concern, and Richie quickly realized that none of them were distressed by his death. Stan seemed to be mainly focused on Mike as he spoke, observing him to make sure he was okay after what happened. Ben was looking down, and then he ran his hand over his stomach, thinking of the scar that still remained from Henry’s attack. Beverly silently looked at the body, occasionally sipping from a bottle of water she brought from the hotel.

When Mike finished speaking, he looked at the others, wondering what they had in mind to do next. Bill felt Mike’s eyes on him, so he finally put away his phone. He was unable to get rid of the troubling thoughts about Audra that were building, but he knew he needed to be a leader at that moment.

“Wuh-Wuh-We need t-t-t-to get ruh-rid of the buh-buh-body, right?” he suggested.

“Where are we going to go in this weather?” Stan said, looking over his shoulder at the heavy rain.

The force of the wind was becoming difficult to ignore. They heard the occasional clatter outside, indicating that the wind had become strong enough to knock objects around. Mike frowned, knowing it would be impossible to try and find somewhere to dig a hole in these dire conditions. 

“Okay, for now, we should cover him and find somewhere to put him. Who wants to come with me to find something to wrap him in?” Mike asked.

Richie opened his mouth, ready to speak. Mike immediately shook his head.

“Not you. I know you haven’t recovered from rewinding, so you need to rest right now. There’s a sofa over by the kids’ books, go rest there,” he instructed, and then turned to Eddie, “You want to keep him company?”

Although Richie was about to tell Mike he still wanted to help, as soon as he mentioned Eddie, he decided not to voice any objections. He knew he needed to relax after rewinding after all. Eddie lightly touched his back, indicating that they should go sit down. As they began to walk towards the kids’ section, Richie looked back over his shoulder, seeing that the others were beginning to search the library.

The couch in the kids’ section, intended for parents, was a little run down, with its once bright blue colour now faded. It still proved to be comfortable, though, as Richie sunk into it as soon as he sat down. Eddie sat beside them, their legs lightly brushing. For a moment, they just listened to the howling wind outside, accompanied by the occasional crash. They looked at each other for a moment before Richie decided to break the silence. 

“You’re not experiencing any bad side effects after that rewind, are you?” he asked.

“No, I’m fine, which I wasn’t expecting. A little shaken up after everything that happened tonight, but fine all the same. Are you feeling any better?” 

“Hey, nothing can keep me down for long,” Richie replied, and then paused before adding, “Tonight wasn’t _all_ bad, though, huh?” 

Eddie let out a short, embarrassed laugh at that, looking away for a minute. Then, he sidled closer to Richie, laying a hand over his. Richie looked down, the ruby catching his eye once again. 

“It definitely wasn’t all bad. But, everything that went on with Henry has made me start thinking about a lot of things,” Eddie said.

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“It’s just that… well, any of us can die any time now, including you. Your rewinding powers will only get you out of so much danger. I’m still determined to get out of this alive with you, but at the same time, I don’t want to waste any more time, in case things _do_ take a turn for the worst. So, what I’m saying is, I want to be with you. We like each other, and I want to act on those feelings this time. No more uncertainty, I just want us to be together,” he said with determination, but then his voice softened, “What do you say?”

Richie could only stare at him for a moment. He could tell Eddie was getting nervous with the silence, but Richie had trouble finding the words. He already knew what his answer was going to be, but at that moment, he was simply stunned that Eddie had asked him. He began to wonder how he was ever able to cope with spending so much time alone. Smiling, he cupped Eddie’s cheek. 

“Of course I want to be with you. Let’s do this.”

With that, he leaned in, brushing his lips against Eddie’s. He intertwined their fingers as they did so. The kiss was soft and sweet, and although he didn’t want it to end, Richie finally pulled away. As he gazed at Eddie, he found himself listening to the sounds around him. The wind outside continued to howl, with the rain furiously beating against the roof now. In the distance, he heard the frantic, hushed voices of his friends. He had almost completely forgotten about what had happened with Henry, and then he let out an awkward laugh.

“I do kind of wish we could’ve done this sometime else. I mean, Bowers trying to kill us was a bit of a mood dampener, huh?” Richie said, trying to alleviate the tension building in his mind. Eddie didn’t seem to find it amusing, however.

“I know it’s still tough to think about, but I really was scared that I’d never get another chance. I was certain he was going to murder you, seeing the way he looked at you earlier.”

Eddie was staring down at the floor now. Richie frowned, only realizing now how scared Eddie was for him. And, at this point, he already knew that Eddie’s worries weren’t fully gone, even with Henry dead.

“You don’t think we’re actually going to die soon, do you?” Richie asked quietly.

At that, Eddie frantically shook his head.

“No, I’m looking at worst case scenarios here, I promise. I’m still going to do whatever I can to make sure you stay safe, you know.”

“Well then, we’ve got nothing to fear. If anything happens to you, I’ll rewind in a heartbeat. And I already know you’re capable of going fucking _ham_ on Pennywise, so I already know I’m all good. Your anger is _way_ more powerful than my ability to control time,” Richie said, cracking a grin.

Upon receiving a reminder of that particular moment, Eddie looked embarrassed. Richie laughed at his sudden shyness, thinking about the total contrast he was displaying from his vicious attack against Pennywise. Still grinning, he cupped Eddie’s cheek again. He was relieved to feel Eddie visibly relax at his touch, and slowly, he leaned in for another kiss. They remained like that for a few moments, oblivious to the storm building outside. They were also oblivious to the approaching footsteps.

“Okay, lovebirds, we don’t mean to interrupt, but there’s been an important development,” Stan huffed.

“Whuh-Whuh- _What?”_ Bill stuttered.

As soon as Richie and Eddie heard their friends’ voices, they broke apart from one another. They barely registered Stan’s words, as they were focused on their own shock. Slowly looking up, they took in the Losers’ expressions. Stan looked impatient, while Bill was staring at them with wide eyes. Ben, Beverly, and Mike had no visible reaction. Richie looked over at Eddie, his face growing pale. For the first time, they had been caught by the rest of their friends. They stood up, facing the others.

“We can explain. I know this looks surprising, but you have to understand that we—” Eddie started.

“ _Surprising?_ You know we already know about you two, right?” Stan interrupted. He looked over at Bill, who still looked stunned. “Well, except for Bill, apparently.”

Richie and Eddie looked at each other again, this time in confusion. They had kept their feelings a secret from the rest of the Losers since they were young, so they had no idea how they already knew. Then, realization dawned on Richie. He glared at Beverly.

“You said you wouldn’t tell anyone!” he snapped.

Beverly rolled her eyes.

“The reason I wasn’t going to tell anyone _tonight_ is because everyone already _knew._ We’ve all known since we were kids. Did you guys really think you were subtle about holding hands, or how you’d walk Eddie home _every_ night?” she queried. 

“Wait, what? All of you knew since then?” Eddie said, sounding stunned.

Ben and Mike nodded. Richie and Eddie felt disbelief wash over them. Looking back on the past, they thought they had been incredibly subtle about publicly displaying affection, but apparently that hadn’t been the case.

“I-I-I nuh-nuh-never knew. Huh-Huh-How long…?” Bill asked.

“Okay, this topic really isn’t a priority right now. Bill, show them the article that just popped up,” Stan said impatiently. 

Bill frowned, still wanting to know more about what was going on, but knew Stan had a point. He pulled out his phone and tapped on a local news app. Holding the phone over to Richie and Eddie, they read the top article, which they saw had only been posted less than fifteen minutes ago:

 **POLICE SEARCH FOR JUNIPER HILL ESCAPEE UNDERWAY**

They barely skimmed the article, as the headline gave them all the information they needed; the police were out looking for Henry. That meant if the police were tracking Henry’s footsteps, it would lead them to the badly parked car outside the library, and eventually to his corpse.

“I don’t know how long we have left, but I have a feeling it won’t be long until the police arrive, and they’re going to ask questions that we can’t answer,” Mike said. 

“So, what’re we doing next, Mike?” Richie asked. 

“We have to leave. Tonight. I thought we’d have a little more time to prepare to fight It, but we don’t. No matter where we go now, we’re going to be hunted down like criminals. We have to defeat It tonight, or we’ll never get the chance to again.”

Richie gulped, and for a moment, just listened to the storm outside. Slowly, he began to realize something. If It intended for tonight to be the night where everything comes to an end, he had to wonder if the storm was a mere coincidence. _Don’t lie to yourself. You already know what this storm is,_ he thought, listening to the occasional clash and clatter. _The storm from your blackouts is finally here._

“This is what It always wanted,” Beverly said, “It wanted to send Henry to get rid of us, but It _knew_ that if we managed to kill Henry first, the police would come after us, and the only place we’d have to turn to is the sewers. We were never going to do this on our own terms, were we?” 

Everyone looked down in silence at that. They knew she was right, and at once, they realized that even though they were older, they hadn’t become any more powerful against It. Even Richie, with his abilities to manipulate time, felt useless in that instant. 

“T-T-T-Together. Wuh-Wuh-We can g-g-g-get through this t-t-t-together,” Bill said suddenly.

“Right, together. Let’s go kill It once and for all,” Mike agreed.

With that, the Losers began to stride towards the front door. All of them were silent, contemplating their past experiences with It. However, they also all knew that they were determined to finally defeat It after its years of terrorizing. Taking in a deep breath, Bill pushed the doors of the library open, where pandemonium waited outside.

The storm was even worse than they imagined. The neatly planted trees in front of the library had been torn down, branches and leaves whirling through the air. The rain seemed to blind them from everything, except that gleam of the Chevrolet’s red paint in the distance. 

“Fuck,” Richie said simply.

“Wuh-Wuh-We _have_ to bruh-bruh-brave it,” Bill told them all.

He held an arm in front of his face as he ventured out into the storm. The others slowly followed, pacing carefully around fallen branches and various other bits of debris. The wind was deafening, and the rain was ice-cold. They already knew it was going to be a very long journey to the Barrens, especially since all their cars were parked at the Townhouse, and Mike’s at home.

The moment Richie stepped out, his vision was instantly blurred by the raindrops that clung to the lenses of his glasses. He knew it would be pointless to clean them, as the rain showed no signs of letting up. He had no choice but to proceed blindly, clutching onto Eddie’s arm for support. Eddie guided them slowly towards the end of the path.

Then, there was a horrible skewering sound. This was accompanied by the sound of a thump and a clang, indicating something, or someone, had fallen to the ground. Richie looked in the direction of the sound, hoping that he had misheard. However, he heard Eddie’s terrified cry first, and then Ben’s soft, disbelieving voice.

“Bev?”

Richie took off his glasses. Even though his vision was only slightly improved without the raindrops in his way, he was still only able to make out blurs. He could make out Ben now kneeling down beside someone. First, he saw the ginger hair, knowing instantly who it was. As his eyes traveled down, he saw something cylindrical and rusty sticking out of Beverly’s torso. Her shirt was slowly being stained red. Even without his glasses, Richie could see her eyes were open, and that she was unresponsive. He quickly realized that she had been hit by a loose pipe, finding its way towards her in the storm.

Beverly laid there limply. Ben gathered her onto his lap, shaking her lightly. His breathing was light and frantic. Richie watched in silence for a moment, unable to believe that the girl who had taken down Pennywise was then merely taken down by a loose piece of debris in the storm.

“Beverly? _Beverly?_ She can’t… she can’t be…” Ben sobbed, and then, his blurry face turned up towards Richie. “You _have_ to reverse this! This can’t—”

Richie held up a palm and immediately began to rewind. He was mainly doing it out of desperation to save his friend, but also, hearing the heartbreak in Ben’s voice had been too much to bear. He realized how much Ben loved Beverly, and knew that without her, he would never recover. 

He stopped after a few seconds. He looked over in her direction, seeing that she was walking slowly, her arm in front of her face, covering her eyes. Without a second thought, Richie let go of Eddie’s arm and rushed over to her. Looking forward, he could see the vague shape of the pipe flying directly towards her. She still had her arm in front of her face, oblivious to what was coming. 

“Bev, _look out!”_ Richie cried.

She looked up at him, but before she could react, he grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her towards him. The pipe flew onwards until it hit the wall of the library, where it landed with a loud clatter. Beverly looked back at it, and then slowly up at Richie. 

“That hit me, didn’t it?” she asked softly, astounded.

Ben looked up at the sound of Beverly’s voice, and then back at the pipe as well. As he realized what might have just happened, he wrapped an arm around Beverly’s shoulders, pulling her close.

“I’m so glad you’re okay. I can’t believe that might have hit you,” he said softly, and turned to Richie, “I’m guessing you rewound, Rich? Thank you so much.” 

Richie didn’t reply, however. Instead, he was focusing on the lightheaded sensation that came over him once more. Before he could fully process how to handle it, he felt blood trickle down his nose, which only intensified the lightheaded feeling. He held his head upwards, craning his neck, hoping to stop the bleeding.

When Eddie saw how he had become suddenly weak, he rushed to his side, taking him by the arm.

“I’ve got you. Don’t worry,” he said softly. 

“Guys? If Beverly was killed or seriously hurt by a flying pipe, there’s no way we’re going to make it to the sewers without killing ourselves in the process. We need to drive there,” Stan shouted over the sound of the pouring rain.

Richie was about to ask where they were going to find a car in this weather, but then he remembered the blurry shape of the Chevrolet sitting mere feet away. With Eddie still holding onto his arm, he pulled him in the direction of the car, the others quickly following suit.

When they reached the car, Richie was able to make out the gleam of keys still sitting in the ignition. Of course, Henry had initially thought he’d be in for a quick visit to the library, so he would have had no need to take the keys with him. As Bill and Stan opened the back doors, Richie indicated to Eddie to get in the driver’s seat.

“Why?” Eddie asked.

“You drive for a living! Besides, you’ve always had a good sense of direction, so if anyone can get us through this shitty fucking rain, it’s you,” he explained.

Nodding at that, Eddie got in the driver’s seat. As Richie wiped at his glasses, he noticed Eddie hadn’t started the car yet. He put his glasses back on, and then looked at him questioningly. Eddie jerked his head toward Ben and Beverly, who were still standing outside. Richie dabbed at his nose gentle as he watched. Beverly was about to climb in after Stan, when Ben held her hand, stopping her. She looked up at him. 

“What’s up?” she asked, still sounding shaken from the pipe incident.

“I have no idea what’s going to happen down in the sewers, so I need you to know this before we go. I love you, Beverly. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you, so we need to try and make it out of this alive,” Ben confessed.

Beverly pulled Ben down towards her and kissed him. She closed her eyes, letting the fear of what was to come briefly leave her, knowing that she had finally found someone who genuinely loved her. The rain soaked the two of them, but they didn’t seem to care.

Stan reached into the front and slammed his hand against the center of the steering wheel, letting out a deafening honk. Ben and Beverly pulled away, startled. They looked at Stan with raised eyebrows.

“I’m happy for you two, don’t get me wrong, but we _really_ don’t have a lot of time right now,” he said, urging them to hurry up.

Feeling embarrassed, they climbed into the backseat. Stan scooted over so that he was sitting in the middle. Beverly sat on Ben’s lap, her head brushing the top of the car. With that, Eddie started up the car, and as it revved, he drove down the main street with a speed he didn’t dare use with his usual passengers. As he did so, Richie leaned into the back, holding out his palm to Beverly.

“Nice,” he commented about the earlier kiss.

“You too, Tozier,” she said, rolling her eyes at him, but smirking, she high-fived him.

The rest of the trip was a silent one. Outside, nobody could see any residents. They just saw the pouring rain, which the windshield wipers were rapidly trying to get rid of. Various windows were smashed in from loose debris. The Losers knew they couldn’t concern themselves with the disastrous storm’s effect on the town. They had to keep going. 

Eddie stopped the car at the top of the Barrens. Once he stopped it, they all got out, and began to make their way down the slope, as they did so many times throughout that summer twenty-seven years ago. As they made their way down, they had to step over the trunks of fallen trees. The Barrens so far appeared to have received the worst effects of the storm.

Once they reached the flatland, they began to run in the direction of the sewers, not wanting to risk being hit by any flying branches or end up crushed underneath a falling tree. They kept going until they reached the concrete awning leading into the sewers. 

“I know we didn’t have much time to prepare, but are we ready to go?” Mike asked.

“Ready as we’ll—” Richie began, but was then interrupted.

“ _N-N-No!”_

Everyone looked over at Bill. In one hand was clutching a mauve handbag, the bottom of which was now covered in water. In the other, he was holding a passport opened to the identification page. Mike stepped forward, ready to ask what was going on. Before he could get any closer, though, Bill let the handbag and passport fall into the murky water. He turned on his feet, and ran down the darkened tunnels of the sewers 

 _“I-I-I’m cuh-cuh-coming!”_ his voice echoed.

“Bill, _wait!”_ Beverly cried, ready to go after him.

Richie was about to go as well, but then, his eyes fell to the passport now lying on the ground. He picked it up and opened it to the identification page. _This can’t be happening,_ he thought as he looked at the picture, and then at the name identifying the person as Audra Phillips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the next chapter's going to be a sticky one, I'll say that much. We're coming very close to the end of the story now, and I can't wait for you all to see where this goes. As always, if you enjoyed this chapter, please review!


	18. Futility

 

Bill could be heard shouting Audra’s name even as he ran further into the sewers. The remaining Losers shared a look, knowing that if they let him go too far in on his own, It would get him, as he was at his most vulnerable. Without further hesitation, they ran after him, their ankles submerged in the rising water due to the rain. They sloshed through the murky water, the rain pounding against the concrete awning above their heads.

“Eddie, I’m trusting you’ll know which direction to go,” Mike said. 

At that, Eddie stopped running. He held up a hand to indicate for the others to stop too. They heard faint splashes in the distance. Eddie focused, trying to make out the direction of the sound. Then, he took a right turn, picking up the speed. The others quickly followed.

Richie felt himself come up short on breath as he attempted to keep up with Eddie, but eventually, managed to reach his side once more. Eddie turned to look at him and frowned upon seeing that his upper lip was still caked in blood due to the earlier rewinding. He slowed down, giving Richie a serious look.

“You’re still only going to rewind in life or death circumstances, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure. You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Richie reassured him.

Eddie looked away, thinking that he definitely had a lot to worry about. He knew that It would stop at nothing to kill them, and if the monster was successful, Richie would be putting his health dangerously at risk every time he rewound. _All I can do is make sure everybody stays safe,_ he thought, and briefly looked over his shoulder at the rest of his friends. 

“Hey, I see him!” Richie called out, pointing up ahead.

Bill was a few feet away, stopped in the middle of a crossway of paths. He was looking around frantically at the three other paths, trying to figure out which one would be the best to go down. Mike nudged past Richie and Eddie, cupping his hands around his mouth. 

“ _Bill!_ You can’t look for her on your own!” he called out.

Turning around, Bill looked slightly surprised when he saw the others. It was as if he had completely forgotten about them in his frantic search for Audra. He lowered his head, thinking briefly about the best plan of action. Looking up again, he saw Mike’s pleading look. _He’s right. I can’t find her alone,_ he thought. Nodding, he took a step forward.

However, he stopped when he heard another pair of footsteps approaching. The rest of the Losers froze too. They looked in the direction of the sound. From the north tunnel, they could see a silhouette moving slowly and unsteadily. When the person emerged from the darkness, Bill stared on in disbelief.

“Bill? Is that you?” 

The Losers were able to recognize Audra from the various films she had starred in. However, as she stood in front of them, she looked starkly different from her usual glamour. Her eyes were wide open with terror, and her face was smeared with dirt. Her clothes were torn up, as if she had to fight her way through thorns to get this far.

Audra took a limping step towards Bill, her whole body shaking. She only managed to take a few steps before she collapsed to her knees. Snapping out of his trance, Bill ran over to her. He fell to his knees too and pulled her in for a tight hug, attempting to hold her slumping form upright. 

The rest of the Losers watched on sadly. They had hoped that Bill had nothing to fear as he constantly checked his phone, waiting on a reply from Audra. Seeing the terrified, vulnerable look on Audra’s face indicated that she had already been through horrible things at the hands of It, but they could merely wish that all hope wasn’t lost, considering Bill had found her alive. Watching on quietly, Beverly took Ben’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Eddie looked up at Richie, who still looked worse for wear, and understood instantly what Bill must have been feeling towards Audra in that moment. He clutched Richie’s arm, gazing on as well.

“I-I-I’m here, A-A-Audra. I’m here. I-I won’t e-e-e-ever luh-let a-a-anything huh-huh-happen to you a-a-a-again,” Bill said soothingly. 

“Oh, thank god. When you left so suddenly, I was so scared. I had to come after you, but then…” Audra murmured, shuddering as she trailed off.

“Y-Y-You shouldn’t huh-have cuh-cuh-come. This tuh-town i-i-i-isn’t safe. I-I-It’s lucky you’re stuh-stuh-still alive. Y-u nuh-nuh-need to get o-o-out of huh-huh-here _now,”_ Bill warned.

With that, he attempted to pull her to his feet, determined to lead her out of the sewers once and for all. However, Audra shook her head, instead staying put. She looked over her shoulder at the rest of the Losers. As she continued to speak, she stared directly at them.

“No, you don’t understand. Now that you’re here, you should stay here. You can stay with me… with Georgie…” 

Bill suddenly tensed up. Audra grinned, still looking at the Losers. Her mouth stretched back to an unnatural degree, revealing dozens of razor sharp teeth. Her eyes became bright yellow. The rest of the Losers knew immediately what was going on. The majority of them remained frozen in place, except for Mike, who strode forward, fumbling for the pistol once again. Bill tried to wriggle away from the thing posing as Audra, taking in deep, gasping breaths, but as it dug its nails into his back, it was clear that its hold was too tight to escape from. 

 _“Stay with us, Bill!”_ it screamed.

Mike was too far away to fire a bolt. Instead, the creature lowered itself, mouth wide open, and bit the skin between Bill’s neck and shoulder. Bill screamed as it did so, and then slumped forward, no longer breathing. The creature posing as Audra stared up at the Losers triumphantly, holding threads of Bill’s skin between its teeth. Its mouth was covered in blood. The Losers stared on in horror, but then, Richie took a step forward. 

“I’ve got this, I’ve got this…” he mumbled to himself, his voice shaky.

 _I can’t let this happen. Nobody can die for real tonight,_ he thought. He then raised his palm and began to rewind, watching as Bill came back to life, he and Audra spoke, and finally, Audra disappearing back down the northern tunnel once again. 

Once he felt a sharp pain in his head, he knew he had to stop rewinding. As soon as he lowered his hand, he felt his right eye begin to water once more, stinging. Groaning, he held a hand over his forehead as the headache got worse. Eddie put an arm around his shoulder, concerned. _I can’t waste time,_ Richie thought and looked towards Mike. 

“It’s coming. Do you think you can get up close enough to take a shot at it with that pistol?” Richie asked.

Mike looked briefly alarmed, but then forced himself to take a deep breath and calm down, knowing he had to stay calm against fighting It. He reached for his pistol, but then paused. He changed course and reached into his back pocket instead. Richie moved his hand away from his face, his eye still watering, and gave Mike a questioning look.

“I brought along something that could do just as much damage. Hell, probably more,” he said.

Pulling his hand out of his pocket, he revealed the old slingshot that had saved them during that chaotic summer. Beverly straightened up when she saw her old weapon. Mike handed it to her, and she tightly curled her fingers around its base. Rummaging in his pocket once more, he pulled out a few silver bullets and placed them in her other hand.

“Make them count,” he said.

Beverly nodded, already knowing she would do whatever she could to take an accurate shot. She looked over at Richie, hoping for some indication, and he gestured his head towards the north tunnel. Placing one of the silver bullets in the slingshot, she pulled back on the rubber band, keeping a steady aim as she looked onwards. She tensed upon hearing slow footsteps. When a silhouette emerged from the darkness, she glared.

“Bill? Is that you?” Audra’s soft voice called out. 

 _“Now, Bev!”_ Richie cried.

She looked at him with wide eyes, but when she looked back at Audra, she could see something was unnatural about the woman standing in front of her. After Richie cried out, Audra’s vulnerable expression turned into one of malice, now glaring directly at Beverly. Her eyes were losing their natural colour, instead fading into some kind of yellow. Beverly didn’t need any more convincing that the woman in front of her wasn’t Bill’s wife.

Letting go of the rubber band, she watched as the silver bullet flew past Bill’s head, causing him to flinch. Audra grew wide eyed as it flew towards her and hit her directly in the forehead. It entered through, but there wasn’t a single drop of blood. There was simply a black hole in the middle of her forehead. Her eyes rolled up slowly, her mouth agape, and then she stumbled back, falling into the water.

“Whuh-Whuh-What the huh-huh- _hell_ did you j-j-j-just d-d-d-do?!” Bill snapped, rounding on Beverly.

“Saving your ass, that’s what!” Richie yelled back.

It took just one look at Richie’s bloodshot eye and pale expression to realize what had happened. Bill’s expression softened. He turned to Beverly.

“I-I-I’m suh-suh-sorry,” he murmured, sounding shaken from seeing a creature posing as his wife shot down in front of him. 

Beverly was about to reply, but before she could, Stan pointed towards the body of It posing as Audra. Bill turned around, and the others focused their attention on the body, finally seeing what had caught Stan’s attention. 

The body was now convulsing. Slowly, the monster morphed from Audra into Pennywise, her torn clothes replaced by its silk clown costume. Once its transition was complete, Pennywise staggered to its feet, glowering at the Losers. Bill took a few steps back, holding his arms out protectively in front of his friends. 

“Shoot it again,” Eddie whispered to Beverly. 

She prepared the slingshot once more. However, as soon as Pennywise saw her preparing, it let out an animalistic snarl. It lunged towards them, its pupils beginning to emit a glowing light, causing all of them to cry out. They all closed their eyes, awaiting their fate. Even though Richie had his eyes closed, he held a palm out, ready to start rewinding. _There’s no fucking way we’re going to meet our end cowering in some random sewer tunnel,_ he thought. His palm was shaking, but in spite of the pain he still felt from his last rewind, he was ready to go. 

However, the monster didn’t lunge at them. Instead, they could hear light splashing, indicating that Pennywise was backing away from them. Slowly, Richie opened his one good eye, the other still watering too much to open fully. He could see that Pennywise was no longer in sight, but the monster’s animalistic snarling echoed throughout the entire underground system. 

“We have to go after It,” Beverly said.

Before anyone could voice their objections, she began to run towards the source of the sound, holding the slingshot tightly in her hand. As the others began to run after her, they could hear that Pennywise’s snarling sounded less menacing, instead becoming a more wounded cry. _It’s definitely injured, right? We have a chance!_ Richie thought, allowing himself to become optimistic. 

He lowered his shaking hand. As soon as he did so, Eddie grasped it. Richie looked up, meeting his soft gaze. He tightly grasped Eddie’s hand back, and keeping in line with the rest of the Losers, they knew exactly where they were running to. After twenty-seven years, it was time to return to It’s lair. 

As they came closer, the pained snarls ceased. Instead, they heard hissing. Richie and Eddie slowed, not liking what they heard, but none of the others stopped. All of them were determined to defeat It once and for all. Sharing one last look, they ran after the others, knowing that the only way to ever be free was to finally face the monster. 

When the Losers entered the lair, however, they came to a sudden stop. Any hope Richie felt seconds ago had quickly evaporated. Stunned, he stared up at the monster in a form he had never seen before. It was impossible for his mind to fully comprehend, but the closest object he could see a resemblance to was a spider. _A giant fucking Eldritch abomination of a spider, that’s what,_ he thought, staring up into its multiple unblinking eyes. 

The lair itself was different too. Instead of just having bones scattered along the ground, the ceiling was now covered in webbing. Cocoons of web hung sporadically throughout the lair. Richie barely acknowledged them, as he was completely fixated on the spider. However, his attention was drawn away from the spider when he realized that Beverly was not focused on shooting anymore. Instead, she stared up at one of the cocoons. 

When Richie squinted, he began to make out what was hidden in the cocoons. First, he spotted a hand. As his eyes trailed upwards, he saw that the cocoon didn’t fully hide the face. Richie stared up into the glazed eyes of a gruff-looking man, his jaw locked in a scowl. 

“Tom,” Beverly whispered.

With that simple whisper, all of the Losers, except for Bill, turned towards her. She bit her lip, a brief look of panic crossing over her face. Then, she sighed, briefly closing her eyes. When she opened them again, she looked eerily calm. Ben glared up at the cocooned man, but softened his gaze as he looked at Beverly.

“Should we try to get him down from here?” he asked.

Beverly paused before answering.

“No. He can rot up there for all eternity for all I care,” she replied calmly.

She moved to position the slingshot again, trying to locate the spider’s mouth for the most critical damage. However, before she could find a position, she was distracted once more. Bill raised a shaking finger, pointing to a cocoon behind the spider’s body.

“I-I-I think that’s A-A-Audra,” he whispered.

They looked at the cocoon he was pointing at. They were able to make out the person’s hair entangled in the webbing, but she was a little too far away for them to clearly see her facial features. But once the Losers saw the determined look on Bill’s face, they knew they had to go find out if it was her. 

The spider watched as the Losers began to run to the left, determined to find a way around it. Stan looked up at it cautiously, wondering why it wasn’t bothering with them. He wondered if it was waiting for the right opportunity to strike. He gulped, merely hoping that Beverly and Mike would be ready with their weapons if his assumption was right. 

Bill was in the lead, but he came to a sudden stop when he nearly reached the back of the spider. The others stopped, looking at him questioningly. He turned towards them, his face pale.

“Cuh-Cuh-Come suh-suh-see this,” he told them.

With that, they caught up with Bill, and finally saw what caused him to stop in his tracks. Behind It, there were hundreds of black orbs that shone. As they continued to examine them, they all slowly realized what they were looking at.

“It’s spawning, isn’t it?” Eddie asked quietly. Bill nodded in confirmation. 

“Y-Y-Yeah. That m-m-m-means we huh-huh- _have_ t-t-to kuh-kill I-I-It a-a-and its spuh-spuh-spawn buh-before they huh-huh-hatch,” he said.

“Good thinking, Bill,” Mike said, “but we still need to take It down in the meantime. Beverly, you take charge from the front with the slingshot. I’ll be close behind. Ben, you need to start crushing those eggs. Get rid of them all. Richie, can I count on you to rewind if anything goes wrong?”

Ben and Beverly nodded, determined to take It down in their own ways. Richie was about to confirm that he was up for the job too, but he saw the worried way that Eddie was still looking at him. He bit his lip, thinking about what to do. However, he already knew the answer; he would do whatever he needed to keep the others safe. 

“I’m in,” he said. He gave Eddie’s hand a small squeeze to reassure him that he wouldn’t take any unnecessary risks.

“I-I-I nuh-nuh-need to suh-save A-A-Audra,” Bill cut in before Mike could give him a task, “I’m suh-sorry.”

“I understand. Stan, you make sure he doesn’t get hurt, alright? Bev, I’ll stay close behind you,” Mike explained, “Now, let’s go. We don’t have any more time to spare.” 

Richie was about to make a quip about how technically they had all the time in the world due to his rewinding powers, but before he could speak, everyone had run in different directions. The only one who remained was Eddie, who still kept holding onto his hand tightly as he stared up at the monster.

“I’m not going to let it hurt you, I promise,” Richie murmured.

As he spoke, he stared up at the monster too. The moment his eyes met the monster’s several eyes, it sneered at him, and briefly moved its head towards them. Richie stepped protectively in front of Eddie, holding up a palm.

However, before he got a chance to use his powers, the spider let out a pained cry. Even over its echoing screech, Richie could hear the ping of a silver bullet bouncing back against the floor. Beverly had clearly gotten a shot at it, but since it was facing away from her, the shot hadn’t been enough to severely wound it. 

 _“Fuck!”_ she shouted, her voice echoing along with the spider’s screech.

Around the back, Ben listened to Beverly’s loud cry. He had been hesitant to start crushing the eggs but knowing that the girl he loved was putting herself in danger was enough to make him stop dawdling. The sooner that It and its spawn were dead, the sooner they could leave their trauma behind. Determined to move onto a happier future for himself and Beverly, he crushed a few of the eggs under his shoe.

They exploded in black sludge. Ben gagged at the smell, which intensely reminded him of vomit. He focused on trying to overcome the smell, staring down at the next pile of eggs. As he brought down his foot once more, he failed to notice the monster’s full attention now on him.

He only noticed the spider when it let out a snarl. Looking up, he saw the pure rage in its many eyes, clearly determined to protect its offspring from any attacks. For a moment, Ben stood there in paralyzed fear, but then remembering his resolve, he glared up at the monster. He brought down his foot once more, trying to ignore the putrid smell that wafted. 

Seeing more of its offspring get crushed, It let out an enraged snarl. Then, before Ben could realize what was going on, the spider raised one of its legs, revealing that the fine hairs on its legs were silver in colour, and gleamed like blades. Then, it swiped its leg across Ben’s body, causing him to instantly stumble back.

Even from where they were standing, Richie and Eddie could see the blood spurt from his body. As he was thrown against the wall, Richie saw there were two gashes across his torso and once against his throat. As he slumped to the ground, he showed no signs of life.

“Ben!” Stan cried, abandoning Bill as he ran to Ben’s side.

His cry was enough to attract Beverly’s attention, who witnessed none of what had just happened. Dropping the slingshot, she ran, her heart thudding. Once she saw Ben’s slumped body from a distance, she slowed, then dropped to her knees. Richie and Eddie walked over to her, seeing that her breathing was becoming quick and frantic. Richie laid a trembling hand on her shoulder, causing her to whirl around.

“Why haven’t you rewound yet?! You can’t make me go through this, Richie, I _can’t!”_ she screamed.

Richie felt a horrible sense of déjà vu. He thought of Ben’s heartbroken reaction to Beverly dying earlier that night, so seeing Beverly go through the same heartbreak was too much for him to bear a second time. Taking in a deep breath, he raised his palm.

“Be careful,” Eddie said. That was the last thing he heard before he rewound.

He could only manage to rewind for a few seconds before the pain in his head became too intense to ignore. He stopped as Ben crushed the first lot of eggs. At first, Richie wanted to go and physically stop him, but the moment he took a step, he felt a wave of dizziness overcome him. Then, he stumbled to his knees. Eddie was by his side in an instant. He knelt beside him, rubbing his back. 

 _“Ben! You need to stop!”_ Richie cried out, attracting the attention of all the other Losers.

As soon as he shouted out his warning, he felt his nose begin to bleed once more. His eye was still watering, and judging by the worried look Eddie was giving him, he expected that it had become even more bloodshot. He gave Eddie’s hand another gentle squeeze. _I don’t want to worry you this much,_ he wanted to say. 

Ben looked up, frozen in his movement. The spider was still advancing on him, and Richie let out a pained cry. The cry was both due to the pain in his head, but also due to the fact that he had failed to save him. He wasn’t sure if he could handle another rewind. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting to hear that slash once more.

“You’re not hurting anyone ever again!”

Stan’s determined cry rang out throughout the lair. Richie’s eyes opened wide. From where he was sitting, he could see Stan run away from Bill once more, but this time, to pull Ben away from the spider’s death reach. The spider no longer looked intent on killing Ben. Instead, it tilted its head at Stan, as if it was playfully curious. 

Stan stood as tall as he could, glaring up at the monster. He was taking in deep breaths, and even though he looked furious, there was no mistaking the hint of terror on his face. Eddie slowly stood up, watching Stan cautiously. Richie continued watching Stan from his position.

“For years, I’ve been plagued by nightmares of you. I thought I could never be free from the deadlights unless I took my life, but I can do more than that, can’t I? I can stop you from ever hurting my friends again. We’ll kill you, and I’ll go back home to live a happy life with my wife,” he told the monster.

Briefly, there was silence. Then, the monster let out an amused squeal. It advanced on Stan. At the same moment that Stan’s determination was replaced by paralyzing fear, Eddie left Richie’s side, running to Stan. Richie saw a dull glow begin to emit from the spider’s mouth, as if teasing its deadlights in front Stan once more. 

_“No!”_

Eddie let out a defiant cry. From his pocket, he retrieved the knife he had taken from Henry’s body. He jumped in front of Stan, who broke out of his trance, but made no move to pull Eddie back. Instead, he watched as Eddie thrust the knife inside its mouth.

“No… more…” he grunted as he pushed his arm further inside the creatures mouth.

There was the sound of the small blade plunging against something inside the creature’s mouth. It let out a pained screech. Its legs were beginning to tremble violently, indicating that it had grown significantly weaker. Then, it attempted to clamp its mouth closed, and there was a ripping sound. Eddie let out his own cry and collapsed to the ground. Stan screamed as he was splattered with his friend’s blood. 

Richie stood up, shakily beginning to make his way towards Eddie. As he came closer, he saw that there was now a bloody stump where his right arm had previously been. Feeling delirious, he stumbled towards Eddie, collapsing to his knees in front of him. He felt a lump form in his throat, and he stared down in disbelief. _This can’t be happening again. It can’t._

The other Losers ran over, crouching around Eddie. Richie felt a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he didn’t bother to look at who was comforting him. All his attention was focused on Eddie, who was also gazing up at him with glazed eyes. Despite the pain he must have been feeling, he looked calm. Richie shook his head, and raised his palm, but paused when he saw Eddie weakly shake his head.

“Don’t,” he whispered. 

“What?” 

“Don’t… Don’t do it this time. You’ll be in pain. No… no more… Besides, I think… this is how things are meant to be…” Eddie murmured. He stroked Richie’s cheek when he saw the pained look on his partner’s face. “It’s okay. It’s okay, really. You know I… I…”

Eddie stopped, his breath catching in his throat. It looked as if he was just thinking for a moment, but then, his body became motionless. Out of all the times Richie had seen him die, this time he looked the most peaceful, as if he was happy to accept his fate. But, Richie wasn’t willing to accept it. He knew their better future together, away from loneliness and unhealthy marriages, awaited them. He had the power to rewind time, and he intended to make its main purpose to always save Eddie. _I’m not accepting this,_ he thought.

“Richie…” Beverly said quietly, her voice thick with tears.

“No, this isn’t happening. _This isn’t fucking happening!”_

He raised his palm, and even though the pain was still throbbing intensely in his head, he was determined to overcome it. He rewound, staring intensely as he watched everything happen in reverse. Once again, he could only rewind for mere seconds, as he was certain that this time, the pain he was experiencing was enough to kill him.

By the time he stopped, he saw Eddie stand in front of Stan, who still looked petrified. Richie rose shakily to his feet, even though they threatened to collapse beneath him at any given moment. As he stumbled towards Eddie, he could feel blood begin to gush from his nose once more, this time more intensely than ever. He ignored it, concentrating on how Eddie was beginning to thrust the knife towards It.

 _“Eddie, don’t!”_ he cried.

He jumped towards him, knocking Eddie to the ground and covering his body as he glared up at It. Stan stumbled backwards, stunned by the sudden appearance of the two men. Thankfully, It no longer directed its malice towards Stan or Eddie. 

Now, however, it was focused completely on Richie. Its several eyes bore down on him, but Richie found himself too weak to do anything. All he could do was stare back, and It quickly caught onto his weakness. Focusing on Richie, its several eyes started to emit a white, blinding light. Stan looked away, and Eddie was completely covered, unable to see it. Richie, on the other hand, couldn’t even muster the energy to turn away. Instead, he continued to gaze into those insane lights, helpless.

From what felt like a far distance, he could hear Eddie screaming his name. However, he couldn’t look away, as much as Eddie tried to get him back to reality. He just kept staring as the lights seemed to engulf his full vision.

And then, Richie found himself in It’s deadlights.

 


	19. In the Deadlights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning: this chapter contains some distressing scenes, so please be cautious before proceeding!

Richie waited for the indescribable pain to come. He waited to experience what had driven Stan to suicide. He waited with his eyes closed, scared to see what horrors would await him when he opened his eyes. 

But that pain didn’t come. After minutes had passed, Richie slowly opened his eyes. He realized that the intense pain in his head was now gone. He touched his upper lip, and when he looked at his fingertips, he saw no blood. All the pain he had been experiencing in the real world was gone now that he was in the deadlights.

He looked around. All he could see for miles on end was whiteness. Even though he felt like he was standing on solid ground, there was no end to the whiteness. It was just as bright as those maddening deadlights had been when he initially looked into them, but now, they no longer felt overwhelming. He felt perfectly normal looking at the brightness that surrounded him.

Briefly, he panicked that he had died. _I can’t be dead, can I? If I’m dead, who’s going to protect Eddie? Who’s going to look out for the rest of the Losers?_ he thought, but then shook his head. Henry clearly hadn’t died after looking into the monster’s deadlights. That meant he was physically fine, but he knew that mentally, he was far away from the Losers.

_I need to find my way back._

Raising a foot unsteadily, he placed it in front of him. As he did so, there was a crunching sound. He blinked, and when he looked down again, he could see shards of glass extending for miles. He took another step and there was another crunch under his feet. Stopping, he bent down and picked up a shard carefully. As he examined it, he saw the Coca-Cola symbol on one side of the shard. The moment he realized that this was the glass bottle they had used for the blood oath, the vast silence of the deadlights broke.

“Swuh-Swear to m-m-me. Swear if I-I-It isn’t d-d-dead…” Bill’s voice from twenty-seven years ago echoed.

It faded as Richie dropped the shard back into its place. He continued onwards, picking up the pace. The shards acted as a path back to the present day, where he could fight along with the Losers and protect them from harm. He felt a surge of hope rise within him.

However, that hope began to dwindle as he kept walking. He saw no end in sight. The sharp sensation of the shards digging into his shoes was beginning to wear his feet down, and he began to wonder if this trek was a futile attempt. He began to slow his pace, but as he did so, he finally saw something different gleaming in the distance. He wasn’t sure if his eyes were deceiving him, but he was certain that he saw something silver in colour waiting at the end of the line of shards.

Richie picked up the pace once more, ignoring the pain beginning to grow in his feet. As he grew nearer to the object, he saw that it was Eddie’s lucky coin. Before picking it up, he turned around and looked back at the seemingly endless trail of glass shards. Then, he turned back again, bent down, and picked up the coin.

Then, the whiteness slowly seeped away. A solid floor began to appear under his feet, and the first thing Richie saw was how rundown and grimy the floorboards looked. He watched as walls started to materialize. They were dark in colour, the wallpaper peeling away. As the walls began to close in, he realized that there was some kind of corridor forming. When the final details began to materialize, such as the doors, smells, and dimness of the location, Richie finally realized where he was.

For the first time since he gained his time powers, he was back in the house on Neibolt Street.

In the darkness, it was difficult to make out where he could possibly go. When he took an uncertain step forward, his foot accidentally kicked something, which began to roll down the corridor. Still holding the coin in one hand, he ran after the object, where it came to a stop by hitting a door. When he picked it up, he discovered it was a flashlight.

Fumbling with the switch, he turned it on, and shone it in front of the door it had hit. ‘PLEASE COME IN’, was etched in a rough scrawl. Richie scowled. He had watched enough horror movies to know that was never a good sign. He considered turning away, but then paused. _Do I really have any choice here? I need to find a way out of this damn place._

Sighing, he turned off the flashlight and pocketed it, still clutching the coin tightly in his other hand. He turned the knob, bracing himself for whatever awaited him on the other side.

When he opened the door, he was overwhelmed by the brightness of the place. It wasn’t as bright as the deadlights had been, but it was a definitive contrast from the darkness of the Neibolt corridor. He took in the cream-coloured walls, the green carpeting, and the various armchairs and sofas scattered around the room. There was a small television at the top of the room playing a soap opera. About five or six old people were sitting on the couch closest to the television, enthralled by the drama.

As Richie took in the people present in the room, he realized that the majority of them were well into their old age. He wondered why he was in a retirement home of all places, but he didn’t have much time to ponder. As he continued to scan the room, he was shocked to see Bill kneeling by an armchair close to the window. He couldn’t see the person in the armchair, but he was able to make out that Audra was standing above Bill, her hand poised gently on his shoulder. 

“Bill! Are you really here?!” Richie called out, running over to him.

Despite his calling out, Bill didn’t respond. He kept looking up at the person in the armchair instead. Richie took another step forward, but then froze, bewildered by a sudden shift in his vision. He felt as if he was experiencing double vision. On one level, he was still examining Bill from a distance, but on another level, he was seeing what Bill was seeing. 

Through Bill’s eyes, he was looking up at an old woman. It took him a moment to recognize the face, now much older, but he came to realize it was Bill’s mother. She was now much older, with a blank expression on her face as she looked back at her son.

Richie wasn’t just limited to experiencing what Bill saw. He realized that he could feel Audra’s hand on his shoulder. Then, he felt a weird sensation inside him, as he began to experience the emotions Bill was currently experiencing. The first thing that struck him was the anticipation, as he looked up at Sharon, waiting for her to say something.

The second, underlying feeling was the love he felt for Audra. In that moment, Richie could understand why Bill was willing to risk everything to save her. Of course, he had already understood that due to his own feelings for Eddie, but he decided not to ponder on that too much, as thinking of Eddie only caused him to panic about escaping the deadlights.

Instead, he watched as Bill turned around, looking up at Audra. She frowned, and Bill began to wonder if this was yet another pointless, silent visit to his mother. As he sighed and stood up, Richie felt Bill’s defeat. However, before he could start walking away, Sharon suddenly grasped Bill’s hand, her hold much stronger than expected.

“I want to say I’m sorry,” Sharon blurted out, staring up at Bill intensely.

“Whuh-What?” Bill asked, genuinely confused.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for being so cold to you after Georgie’s death. I’m your mother, you needed me after he went missing, and I didn’t do anything to help you. I shouldn’t have made you feel so responsible for something that wasn’t your fault… I’m so sorry.”

Richie felt a prickling of sorrow that occurred every time Bill thought of Georgie. This time, though, that sorrow was accompanied by something else; a sense of a weight being lifted off his shoulders. These were the words Bill wanted to hear for as long as Georgie’s been missing. He wanted to know his parents still loved him in spite of what happened, so hearing those words now meant more to Bill than anything else.

Tears began to form in Bill’s eyes. He quickly brought a hand up to wipe them away, and as soon as Audra realized her husband was about to cry, she began to gently soothe him, looking down at her mother-in-law for help. Sharon gazed up at him, and then pulled Bill down by the hand she was still grasping, embracing him in a one-armed hug. 

Richie could feel the warmth that burst inside Bill as his mother embraced him. He realized in that moment how much proper love Bill had been deprived of from his parents since Georgie’s death. Getting to feel the warmth and relief that now flooded Bill was one of the most wonderful sensations Bill had ever experienced. _Hey, good for you,_ he thought as he watched on. 

He watched on for a few more seconds before he felt a strange tingling sensation in his palm. Looking down, he opened the fist that still tightly held the coin, realizing that was where the tingling was coming from. It was getting more insistent with each passing second, which started to grow irritating.

Examining the coin, he used his other hand to turn it over to the other side. The tingling sensation stopped. But when he looked up from the coin, he was no longer in the retirement home. 

Instead, he was in a darkened bedroom. Looking at the double bed pressed against the wall, he could see Audra curled up, fast asleep. Bill laid beside her, but he wasn’t asleep. He was fiddling nervously with his thumbs and staring at the door. 

Once again, Richie felt himself experiencing the strange double vision that hit him moments earlier. Through Bill’s eyes, he stared intently at the door, feeling his heart thud. Slowly, the knob began to turn, and the door slowly creaked open. 

Richie felt his breath stop upon seeing a decaying Georgie standing in the doorframe, still wearing his yellow rainslicker. His terror was combined with Bill’s, who sat upright upon seeing Georgie. He couldn’t run. All he could do was sit and stare at his dead brother.

“You let me go out there, Bill,” Georgie muttered.

He started to limp towards the bed, leaving a trail of greywater behind him as he moved. The water left a putrid smell, but that was the least of Richie’s concerns. Instead, he watched in fear as Georgie stopped by Bill’s bedside. He placed his small, murky hand atop Bill’s.

“Let me die, Bill… you let me die…”

“N-N-No, that’s not…” Bill attempted to argue, once again on the verge of tears.

“ _You did this!”_

Georgie’s face contorted into an animalistic snarl, and Richie could feel Georgie’s grip on Bill’s hand tighten. His nails dug into Bill’s palm, and Richie winced as he felt blood being drawn. The pain only intensified when Georgie twisted Bill’s arm, bearing his teeth, revealing that they were the same as Pennywise’s sharp ones. Richie let out a cry and held his own arm, feeling the pain as Bill groaned, his arm becoming twisted at an unnatural angle.

Richie began to back away to the door, which Georgie had left open. The pain in his arm kept on intensifying, and it felt as if every muscle in his arm was under strain. He knew if he didn’t get out of the room at that very instant, he would be subjected to even more indescribable pain.

He managed to stumble back out into the corridor and slam the door shut, gasping for breath. He rubbed at his arm. The pain was beginning to fade, but it still remained vividly clear in his mind. A part of him wanted to stay curled up in this spot and not move another inch in case of encountering any more danger, but another part of him knew he couldn’t back out. He still needed to find a way out of the deadlights. 

Once he took a moment to recollect his breath, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the flashlight once again. Turning it on, he walked further down the hallway, clenching the coin in a fist with his other hand. Eventually, he came to a stop by a door to his right, which seemed to be calling to him. He stared at it, wondering if it was a way out of the deadlights at last, or just another trap awaiting him.

He took a deep breath and pushed the door open. When he opened it, he was greeted with a gust of fresh air, which he took in gladly. Stepping out, he could feel grass flattening beneath his feet. He looked up, seeing dozens of stars in the night sky. Looking around, he could see a few benches scattered around, indicating he was in a park, but this time, there were only two people there. 

As he walked closer, he saw that the two other people were Ben, who was dressed smartly, and Beverly, who was wearing a blue summer dress. They were sitting next to each other, Beverly with her hands on her lap, and Ben gazing at her. Richie only looked at them for a moment before he began to experience the sense of his vision doubling once more.

He saw Beverly from a more upfront angle. As soon as he began to feel a nervous drop in his stomach, he realized that he was experiencing whatever anxieties Ben was going through in that moment. This time, Richie didn’t try calling to them. He kept his distance, watching to see what would happen.

“Um, Beverly? Can I ask you something?” Ben mumbled. Once he spoke, Richie could feel the nerves inside him begin to soar.

“What is it?” Beverly answered, looking at him curiously.

Ben took in a deep breath, and then, before Richie could guess what he was going to do, he got onto one knee, pulling a small, velvet box from his pocket. At this point, his heart was racing, but the nerves inside him were now being replaced with a hopeful anticipation. Beverly let out a small gasp, holding a hand to her mouth, trying to hide the smile that was building.

“You know that we’ve been through hell and back together, but we survived it all. The one thing that always got me through the rough parts was thinking about escaping all that horrible stuff with you. Being with you has helped me through everything. And I know you’ve been treated badly in the past, so I want to be there for you now and forever, to help you like you’ve helped me. I’ve always loved you, Beverly,” he said, and opened the box, revealing a diamond ring, “Will you marry me?” 

“Yes, oh my god, _of course!”_ Beverly squealed.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. Once they let go, Ben pressed his forehead against Beverly’s, a gentle smile on his face. Inside, Richie could feel the nervousness that had been building up inside Ben being replaced with a feeling of pure euphoria.

But, just like the last time, he didn’t have long to enjoy it. As he watched Ben and Beverly embrace in their moment of pure happiness, he felt the coin begin to tingle once more, and knowing that it would only become more insistent, he sighed and flipped the coin over to the other side.

Before he even looked up, he could already intensely feel fear and disbelief. He heard Ben gasping for breath, and as his fear only grew, Richie groaned and held a hand over one of his eyes. Looking up, he began to see through Ben’s vision what he was experiencing.

The first thing Ben saw was the switchblade. As he looked further up, he felt his skin prickle upon seeing Henry Bowers standing above him. He was just as old as when Richie last saw him, but this time, there was a bolt firmly wedged in the middle of his forehead, blood trickling down into his eyes. This didn’t faze him, though, as he gazed down at Ben maliciously.

“I never got to finish carving my name, you know,” Henry said.

Richie slowly began to back away to the door once more, watching as Ben lunged from his seat. Even though Richie knew on some level that this wasn’t actually happening, he still mentally rooted for Ben to escape. He put his own hand out to grip the door knob, ready to leave, but suddenly found himself paralyzed. He felt as if he had been gripped by the throat. When he looked over at Ben, he realized he felt like that because Ben _was_ being gripped by the throat.

He watched on helplessly as Henry lifted Ben’s shirt, revealing an old scar on the left side of his stomach in the shape of a ‘H’. Henry brought the knife down to his stomach, and the moment it pressed against Ben’s stomach, Richie could feel the same intense pain. He cried out and clutched his own stomach, feeling each slash Henry carved into Ben’s stomach. 

As he stared at Ben, who was screaming out, he felt weak. He realized that the lightheadedness that was starting to overcome him was exactly what Ben was experiencing. Despite the pain in his stomach, Richie wanted to find a way to prevent this from happening, but as he knew from attempting to call out to Bill, all he could do was sit back and watch as this happened. 

_I can’t change anything._ That thought had occurred to him several times since he gained his time powers, but he felt it more intensely than ever, now that he was literally experiencing Ben’s pain, and was utterly unable to help out at all. _Well, do I really have to sit around and watch this?_

He reached towards the door handle once more, and although his body felt weak from pain, he fought through it to turn the knob. He closed his eyes as he heard Ben’s screams behind him, but he knew he couldn’t stay any longer. He ran out into the hallway, leaving Ben and Henry behind. 

As he stood out in the middle of the hallway once again, he shook his head. _I’m not going through that again. Get it together, Rich, you’re acting like the tragically stupid protagonist of a bad horror movie._ He looked around the darkened corridor. Scowling, something occurred to him; if he gave up now, he would be stuck in this corridor for all eternity, and thus, stuck in the deadlights forever. He gulped, realizing that if he wanted to escape, he had to face whatever horrors laid beyond the doors.

Turning on the flashlight, he shone it on one side of the corridor, and then the other. There were three doors on one side, and four on the other, each the same made of the same dust-covered wood. He quickly understood that he would have to watch brief moments of happiness in his six friends’ lives, and apparently his own, before being subjected to their own personalized horrors. 

He looked around frantically. He looked down at the two last doors that were opposite each other. An idea occurred to him. It was probably a futile one, but at this stage, he was willing to try anything. He figured that if he tried entering final two doors, he might be closer to finding an escape from the corridor. 

Although knowing it was a risk, he decided it was worth trying. Taking a deep breath, he strode down towards the end of the corridor, looking between the two doors. After contemplating for a moment, he turned to the one on the left, opening it.

When he looked around the room, he knew he had been in this place before. He was in a nicely decorated living room. Looking over at one of the couches, he understood how he knew this place. He saw Stan sitting down, absentmindedly flicking through a newspaper. Richie had only been in Stan and Patty’s house once before, but he recognized the living room instantly.

He felt a crumbling feeling inside him, realizing that he hadn’t found a way out, but instead, another way to subject himself to witnessing his friends’ pain. _I can’t go through this again,_ he thought. Turning around, he gripped the door knob once more, but before he turned it, his attention was drawn away by a voice. 

_“Stanley!_ I have amazing news!” Patty cried out.

Richie froze. He felt Stan’s alertness, and through his vision, he could see Stan looking over at the door leading to the hallway, waiting for his wife. When she burst into the room, full of enthusiasm, Richie could feel Stan’s excitement soar when he saw the pregnancy test she was holding. There were two red lines on the small panel, indicating it was positive.

“Seriously?” he asked with wide eyes. Patty nodded.

“We’re going to be parents!”

Stan laughed incredulously, and then pulled his wife into a tight hug. She giggled and hugged him back. Richie could feel the tears stinging Stan’s eyes, and the utter elation he felt at Patty’s news.

Even though Stan’s happiness overwhelmed all of Richie’s senses, he couldn’t find it in himself to feel happy for him. In any other circumstances, this would be amazing news to Richie, but right now, he knew that he was just waiting for the dreaded moment when he would have to turn the coin over and see what horrors awaited. 

As if on cue, the coin began to tingle. Groaning, Richie turned it over. He felt the echoes of Georgie twisting Bill’s arm and Henry carving his name in Ben’s stomach. All he could do was wonder what would come next.

Looking up, he saw that he was in a bedroom. The first thing he saw was that the covers were thrown back on one side of the bed, and there was an imprint in the sheets, indicating the other person occupying the bed had just gotten up. On the other side of the bed, Richie saw Stan, writhing, his brows creased in distress. As he watched on, Richie was disconnected from what Stan was experiencing.

However, as soon as Stan’s eyes shot open, Richie experienced double vision once again. He could see the ceiling through Stan’s vision, but that was all. He was still disconnected from what he was feeling, and Richie couldn’t understand why.

”Not again... please not again...” Stan moaned, clutching his head.

Then, Richie finally got hit with what Stan was currently experiencing. As soon as he started to feel it, he wished desperately that he could go back to being disconnected from Stan. He instantly understood why Stan had taken his life before Richie rewound.

He was deafened by the thousands of screams, groans, and cries that echoed in Stan’s mind. Then came the pain. It felt as if every inch of his body was on fire, and then, he began to feel specific pains throughout his body. He felt like his arm was being pulled out of its socket. He felt like he was being choked. He felt everything that any victim in Derry had ever suffered through.

Richie knew he was experiencing everything Stan had suffered through during his experiences in the deadlights. He screamed and clutched his own head, willing it to stop. Briefly, he squeezed his eyes shut, hoping it would help disconnect him, but nothing happened.

When he reopened his eyes, he saw that a bright light was starting to form outside the bedroom window.  _The deadlights are here_ , he told himself calmly, not really understanding his own thoughts. But then, the panic set in.  _Fuck, I need to get out of here. Fast._

His whole body felt heavy with pain. He knew he needed to overcome it before the deadlights took him, though. Biting down on his tongue to prevent himself from screaming out, Richie reached for the door knob. Much to his relief, he discovered he could still turn it. Once he did so, he stumbled back out into the corridor.

Scrambling to his feet, he slammed the door shut behind him. His entire body was trembling from what he had just experienced, the echo of the pain far more intense than the echoes from his previous room explorations. He sat there, trying to catch his breath. A part of him never wanted to get up again.

He didn’t have much time to rest, however. In the corner of his eye, he could see a bright light emerging from the door he just closed. He already knew he couldn’t go through that experience again. As a last-minute decision, he got to his feet and ran towards the door opposite the one he had just closed. He threw it open.

When he opened the door, he blinked quickly a few times, unsure if he was seeing things right. He was back in his own living room in LA. The room was dimly lit. There was music playing from the speakers in the corner of the room. He recognized the song, but he couldn’t initially connect it to any memories.

Then, the pain he felt began to fade, as it was replaced by pure calmness, bliss, and another feeling he couldn’t quite recognize. It was what Bill felt when Audra laid a hand on his shoulder, when Ben got on one knee in front of Beverly, and when Stan heard Patty’s good news. He was curious about it for a moment, but he slowly began to really understand for the first time once he looked at two figures in the centre of the room.

He was looking at Eddie, his hands gently holding the other person’s waist. Looking over, Richie realized he was staring at himself. The two figures were swaying slowly in time to the music, which Richie began to remember from as being few decades back. He understood the feelings of calmness and bliss that being around Eddie always seemed to bring out, but he was surprised by the connection between his feelings for Eddie and the way Ben, Bill, and Stan felt about their partners. It occurred to Richie that he had underestimated how deeply his feelings ran for Eddie.

Even though he stood some distance away from his other self, Richie could feel the warmth of Eddie’s hands on his waist. Through his double vision, Richie was able to see Eddie gaze into his eyes, a smile forming on his lips. He felt his heart skip a beat when Eddie presses his forehead against his own. From where he was standing, Richie watched as Eddie and his other self laughed shortly and lightly.

He knew that he was only getting a small glimpse of his life in this vision, but even from a glimpse, Richie could tell how happy he was. He knew that having Eddie there with him felt like home. As he watched on, Richie felt the happiness of his other self wash over all the pain he had experienced earlier, both in the deadlights and out in the real world. Inside his own head, he became more determined to escape the deadlights and return to LA with Eddie to actually live out a better life together.

Then, he felt the coin start to tingle in his palm. He scowled, but refused to turn it over. _Hey, give me a second of happiness, alright?_ he thought, continuing to gaze at the scene in front of him. The tingling became more insistent, but he ignored it, even as the coin began to grow warm in his hand. Then, it grew hot. He found it harder to ignore as he continued watching himself and Eddie. When the coin started to sear his hand, knowing it would leave a burn mark, he defeatedly turned it over. 

This time, when he looked up, he was still in the living room. It was still dimmed, but there was no music playing, nor was there any sign of Eddie. The television was blaring instead. Richie recognized the voices from the same sitcom he had been watching on the night of the phone call. He saw himself sitting on the couch, absentmindedly looking at the television. 

Richie furrowed his brows, looking behind him at the door. Nothing emerged. He looked over at the phone, wondering if he was about to relive the experience of getting Mike’s phone call. But, nothing happened. For a few minutes, all he did was stand there, observing himself from a distance. 

Then, it hit him. _Oh, I get it. My current life is my worst nightmare. I sure have it bad, being one of the top radio hosts in the area, having more cash than I dreamed of as a kid, and relaxing as much as I want. Super fucking deep, you stupid pile of lights,_ he thought, snorting. 

As soon as he thought that, he saw his other self sit upright, suddenly hugging himself, shuddering. Richie raised an eyebrow, confused at his own behaviour, when a sudden sinking feeling occurred in his stomach. He felt a major pang in his heart, and he suddenly felt a sense of nausea. He remembered that the last time he experienced something like this was when he saw Eddie’s wedding ring, but the feeling was not nearly as intense then. 

He knew what he was experiencing. The loneliness of the past twenty-seven years was hitting him all in one go. He knew now what he had to lose. He had been immune to his past loneliness due to forgetting about the other Losers, but he knew now if he returned to LA alone, he would have to live with the memories of losing Eddie for a second time. 

The loneliness was too much to bear, but at the same time, he didn’t want to leave the room. He didn’t know what horrors awaited him in the corridor, as he still had three doors to explore. Looking around frantically, he thought about what to do, when his eyes fell upon a door leading to his bedroom.

Looking over at his other self, still trying to recover from the sudden wave of emotions he was going through, he decided it would be best to try anything to get out of this room. He strode towards his bedroom door and opened it.

The first thing he registered was that the room on the other side of the door wasn’t his bedroom, but he could have almost collapsed with the relief at first. All he could think about was that he had found a way out of the corridors. Then, he took in the room he had actually entered.

The first thing he noticed were the wooden floors, similar to the floor out in the corridor. But, this room was more spacious. The second thing he noticed was how bright the room was, and he quickly knew why it was so bright. There was a large window on each wall. Outside, he could only see bright light for a moment, but then, the light began to flicker.

He stared out of the north window. When he realized what he was looking at, his heart nearly stopped. He saw Henry, furious and brandishing a knife at Eddie, both much younger than they currently were. Eddie began to wheeze, which led Henry to start yelling at him. Richie shook his head and turned to another window, knowing what would happen if he kept watching. 

He looked through the east window. There, he saw It’s lair once more. For a brief moment, he felt a glimmer of hope that he was nearly out of the deadlights, but that brief hope was quickly vanquished. Looking closer, he could see his younger self with a look of sheer terror in his eyes as Pennywise approached, holding the pistol. He strode towards Eddie, who was wheezing as he tried to blurt out his final words to Richie. 

Groaning, Richie turned away, looking to the south window. He saw Eddie approach the door of the hotel room. Shaking his head, he turned away again, knowing that when he opened the door, Henry would be waiting on the other side to strangle him. He turned to the west window, where he saw Eddie face off against the spider, brandishing the knife that had previously belonged to Henry, and immediately looked away.

Richie looked at each wall of the room, hoping to see some sort of door. However, on every wall, there were only windows, each one replaying Eddie’s four deaths over and over again.

_“Stop it!”_ Richie screamed out, but nothing happened.

He collapsed to his knees, feeling his skin crawl as he could hear the knife slashing Eddie’s throat, the bolt entering the side of his head, Henry strangling the life out of him, and the monster clamping down on his arm. _This is too much. This is way too fucking much,_ he thought.

He dug his nails into the floorboards, which is when something odd happened. As his fingernails sunk into one of the gaps between the floorboards, he could feel it begin to pry away. Curiously, he tried to lift the floorboard, and much to his surprise, a panel of the floor pulled back, as if it were some kind of trapdoor. 

He could see a ladder, made out of the same murky wood as the floor, descend down into darkness. Although he didn’t know if there were more horrors awaiting him at the end of the ladder, or if this was a descent into his certain death, but at this stage, he didn’t care. He wanted an end to the madness of this place.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he began to climb down the ladder. For a while, there was only darkness. He could only make out his hands in front of him, gripping each rung of the ladder as he climbed down. Then, after about thirty rungs, his feet failed to find the next step. As his foot dangled, he knew that this was the point where he had to let go.

He closed his eyes, not wanting to look at where he was about to plunge into. Instead, he just let his fingers slip away from the ladder, allowing him to fall. The fall was much shorter than he expected. After a few seconds, he landed with a thump on his back.

When he opened his eyes, Richie saw the sun shining through several leaves, their greenness indicating they were at the height of summer. The branches gently swayed in the wind. Beneath his hands, he could feel grass. As he slowly observed his surroundings, he realized he was in the Barrens.

Getting up, he brushed himself down, and then gave himself a second glance. Instead of being dressed in his everyday wear, he was now wearing a nice suit, which he had managed to get dirt on due to his fall. He glanced down at his clothes again curiously, but shrugged it off, considering a spontaneous clothes change was far from the worst thing to happen to him in the past while.

He turned around, and once he did so, his attention was quickly captured by what was in front of him. There were about twenty chairs, divided into two sections, forming an aisle down the middle. Many of the chairs were unoccupied, except for five of the Losers. All of them were dressed in formal attire too. Once they saw him, they all stood up, staring at him.

His attention was mainly focused on the very top of the makeshift aisle, however. Eddie stood slightly to the left, also dressed in a suit. He shifted from foot to foot nervously, occasionally glancing at the bottom of the aisle, where Richie stood. However, he didn’t seem to notice Richie as the other Losers had.

_Is this what I think it is?_ Richie thought as he slowly stepped forward, feeling bewildered. He took a deep breath. _Weirder things have happened here._ Then, confidently, he strode forward.

However, he only managed to reach the first row of seats, as Bill suddenly stepped away from his seat, giving Richie an urgent look. Richie looked back at him curiously.

”Y-Y-You l-l-l-let Juh-Georgie die s-s-s-so muh-muh-me and my fuh-folks could l-l-live?” Bill asked incredulously.

The question caught Richie completely off guard. There was no way Bill should know that. He sighed and then nodded.

”I didn’t want to, but I had to. You understand that, right?”

”N-N-No. I a- _asked_ you t-t-to suh-save Georgie. Then y-y-you _lied_ a-a-about nuh-not b-b-b-being able tuh-to fuh-fuh-find him,” Bill said, unable to keep the fury out of his voice. “I-I-I don’t wuh-want to l-l-live with the guh-guilt a-a-anymore. Y-Y-You should’ve l-l-let Juh-Juh-Georgie live i-i-instead.”

Richie bit his lip. He felt guilt wash over him, but knew it was too late to do anything about it now, as the damage had been done. He looked down at the ground, not knowing what to say to Bill. All he could do was try to move past him. He brushed shoulders with him as he did so.

He only managed to move two steps away from Bill. Then, he was intercepted by Ben, who was looking at him less maliciously than Bill, but there was still no mistaking the disappointment on his face.

”What’s up?” he asked cautiously, getting the inkling of an idea what was about to happen.

”Look, Richie, I’m guessing your intentions were good, but you really messed with my poem? Do you really not know how bad it was to do that without consulting me first?”

”Hey, things worked out for the better, didn’t they? I didn’t do it to mess with you,” Richie countered.

He was about to say more, but froze when he saw Beverly make her way over to Ben. She linked her arm through his, looking at Richie curiously.

”See! Everything worked out great! I know I could’ve done it better, but still!” he pointed out.

Beverly squinted at him. She looked as if she had something on her mind, and given how his conversations with Bill and Ben had gone, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear it.

”You’re right, in the end, my love life did work out. Because _that_ was my biggest problem as a kid. Sure, you saw my bruises. You saw how quiet I’d get anytime one of you guys would bring up parents. You _knew_ ,” she spat, and then smiled coldly. “But really, thanks for saving my love life. You really put those powers to good use.”

Richie took a step back, shaking. Beverly was right. He had noticed the bruises that seemed to constantly be scattered across her arms and legs, along with the occasional black eye, but he was too uncomfortable to bring it up. Even if this was only an illusion of the deadlights, Richie still knew that the guilt he felt over what she said was real.

As he thought about what she said, he couldn’t find the right words. Beverly stared him down for another moment, and then lightly rugged on Ben’s arm. He glanced at Richie once more before they took their seats, now averting their gaze from him.

As he continued walking forward, he looked over his shoulder at them guiltily. He took another few steps, still looking back, before bumping into someone else. Turning around, he frowned upon seeing Stan. He braced himself for whatever his friend was about to say.

”Rich, I just want to say thanks for stopping me from killing myself.”

Slowly, Richie looked up. He wasn’t expecting that. As he looked up at Stan’s unreadable expression, he allowed himself to smile. He reached forward to touch his arm, but flinched when he saw Stan step away from him.

”Really, thanks for forcing me to keep living with my memories of the deadlights. I hear it constantly, and just when I think of a way out, you won’t even let me have that much,” he sneered, and then added coldly, “Well, at least you know now how awful it is, right?”

”I have to go,” Richie mumbled, pushing past him.

He knew that trying to argue with Stan would be futile. There would be nothing to change his malicious feelings towards him. Instead, all he could do was try to ignore it as he brushed past Stan as well.

Trying to keep his eyes set ahead on Eddie, he was dismayed to see that the other man was still staring blankly ahead, not registering his presence at all. Richie was determined not to give up, though. He strode forward, where he was then intercepted by Mike.

”Okay, what is it?” Richie groaned, already knowing what was coming.

Mike looked briefly bewildered for a moment, and Richie felt a pang of guilt, wondering if he was mistaken about his assumption. But then, he saw Mike’s bewilderment replaced by exhaustion, and he knew what was coming.

”I just wanted to say that the day you rescued me from Bowers was a good day, but do you know how constantly I wonder about what would have happened if you let me be?” Mike pondered.

”They would’ve seriously hurt you—“

”I’ve thought about this for so long. If you left me alone, I would have never fought It. I would have never felt any obligation to stay in this town. I wouldn’t have to live with all our horrible memories. But, you didn’t leave me alone that day. Because of your _help_ , I’ve had to live with unspeakable horrors,” he continued, “So, thank you, really.”

Richie felt his shoulders slump. Even when he had good intentions, they seemed to backfire. Hearing that helping Mike had much worse consequences for him than if he had been left alone pained Richie to hear. He took in a deep breath to calm himself. _Chill. This is just It messing with you,_ he thought.

But, as he looked back at his friends and their cold expressions, he wondered if It had just revealed their true feelings about him. It pained him to think about, but as he looked to the top of the aisle, he wondered if at least Eddie cared for him. Eddie had proven that time and time again.

“Okay, you’ve heard enough. Come on, it’s about to start,” Mike told Richie, and took his seat.

Richie looked at him in confusion. Looking back to Eddie, he wondered if this was his cue to stand beside him. Hesitantly, he took a step forward, but then, he heard another pair of footsteps. He looked towards the bottom of the altar. A woman in a white dress was striding down, and for a brief second, Richie thought it was Sonia. But as she came closer, he recognized her from the picture Eddie had shown him; it was Myra.

Taking a step back, Richie wanted to look away from the top of the aisle as Myra as she took her place beside Eddie. He found he couldn’t look away, however. He watched as she took his hands in her own, smiling up at him. He didn’t look at her, but instead, looked back down the aisle.

“Are you ready to start the ceremony?” Myra asked. Eddie shifted from foot to foot nervously, and finally looked at his bride-to-be. 

“I… I think there’s someone who’s meant to be here. He said he’d always be there for me no matter what, and… and he isn’t…” he mumbled anxiously.

Seeing his distress, Myra cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. Richie watched as this unfolded, frozen in place. He wanted desperately to move, but found that he was unable to.  _He waited for me, and he really thinks I abandoned him,_ he thought, tears pricking his eyes.

“I’m sorry, sweetie, I don’t think he’s going to come. But it’s okay. I’m going to be here for you for the rest of your life,” she told him in a soothing voice.

As Eddie looked at her resignedly, he leaned towards her. That was enough to break Richie out of his paralysis. He took a bounding step forward, determined to show Eddie that he was still there for him. He was about to cry out for him to wait, but before he could do so, he felt a pair of hands wrap around his arms. He was pulled backwards, and then turned around. When he saw the person who stopped him, his breath stopped.

“Richie, stay here with me, won’t you? Let’s enjoy this together,” Mr. Peterson said warmly.

Feeling his heart begin to palpitate, Richie attempted to jerk away from his former teacher’s grip, but to no avail. Mr. Peterson’s grip grew tighter. It smiled kindly at him at first, but with each passing second, the smile seemed to become something more malicious, and there was an unmistakable hunger in his eyes. Richie shook his head frantically.

“Stay with me forever. You like it here, don’t you?” the teacher cooed.

Richie still found himself unable to speak. _Someone please fucking help me,_ he begged silently, but he knew the Losers currently standing in front of him wouldn’t help. All he could do was continue to stare at Mr. Peterson with wide, terrified eyes.

“What are you so scared for? You have nothing to— _FUCK!”_

Mr. Peterson suddenly let go of Richie, letting out a pained cry. He held his hands in front of his eyes, breathing heavily. It began to lean over, still roaring. Richie watched in disbelief, and somehow knew that this wasn’t a part of It’s show in the deadlights. This was something unexpected, and it gave him hope. 

_“FUCKING BITCH!”_ it roared. 

In spite of everything that happened, Richie found himself grinning. He assumed that the monster’s specific comment indicated that outside of the deadlights, Beverly had managed to do some serious damage to It. He thanked her briefly inside his head, hoping this was close to being over. _This is my chance to escape,_ he thought. Pausing, he knew there was one more thing he had to do. 

He brought his knee sharply upward, where it connected with Mr. Peterson’s crotch. It let out a pained moan, and then resumed its earlier cries of pain from whatever Beverly had managed to do. _You definitely had that coming since the beginning of time,_ he thought.

He then turned on his heel, running frantically through the river. The water wasn’t too high at that point, and he heard his shoes lightly splash against the murky water. As he ran further down, the river grew wider and deeper, and he could see the concrete awning come into view. 

Beginning to slosh through the water, his leg collided with something. Looking down, he saw a severed arm. He resisted the urge to slow down and gag. Instead, he simply looked up, trying to ignore whatever was waiting for him in his path. If he had encountered any severed limbs earlier on during his experiences in the deadlights, it would have freaked him out more, but at this point, he was too emotionally exhausted to process it.

He felt his legs hit against more unknown objects as he waded in, but he forced himself not to think about it. However, this didn’t last for very long. As he reached the concrete awning, there was a slope upward. Once he walked up the slope, the water stopped flowing, and he was walking on dry concrete. He cautiously proceeded, knowing this wasn’t right.

His footsteps echoed as he walked further into the sewers. Absentmindedly, he turned his head to the left, where he saw one of the entrances to another tunnel. He stopped, though, when he saw something unusual. He found himself looking at two young boys on a bike, the moment frozen in time. One was clinging precariously to the other’s back. Both had terrified looks in their eyes. Richie knew he was looking at his younger self and Eddie.

_“Richie? What’s going on?”_ Eddie’s voice seemed to echo in his head.

He realized that he was looking at the moment he saved Eddie for the first time. After gazing at the two boys on the bike for a few seconds, he slowly walked onwards, this time turning his head to the right.

Once again, he saw another frozen image. This time, he saw himself and Eddie sitting on a park bench, Eddie’s eyes wide with shock, while the younger Richie looked at him pleadingly.

_“…And while all that stuff with Henry is still freaking me out like crazy, what you did is even more important to me now. I don’t think I can ever thank you enough,”_ Eddie’s voice echoed once more.

Smiling to himself, Richie proceeded onwards. _Even if most of my rewinding has backfired and caused trouble, I’ll never regret saving him for as long as. I live,_ he thought. Calmly, he turned his head from side to side as he walked, where he realized that every single tunnel entrance had a moment frozen in time.

_“You wanted to help, and you tried to do something incredible. Don’t let yourself forget that.”_ He saw Eddie with his arms wrapped tightly around Richie, who was clearly in distress. Richie’s smile faltered as he realized this was the moment he returned after his failed attempt to save Georgie.

He walked on. As he walked, he saw Eddie leaning over him as Richie laid down with a bloody nose. Then, his younger self after lowering Eddie down into a ballroom-style dip. Turning to the left, there was Eddie with his head against Richie’s shoulder as he slept soundly during _Blade Runner._  

_“I want to find some way to lighten the load. You shouldn’t be dealing with this all on your own. If there was some way we could go through it together, I’d do it.”_

For the first time since entering the deadlights, Richie felt truly soothed. Smiling, he continued onwards. He saw them tinged in the red light of the eclipse, Eddie holding his face while staring at him sternly, while Richie realized he was falling for him for the first time. _How did it take me that long to realize?_ he asked himself.

Next, he saw them frozen in a kiss, Eddie tightly gripping Richie’s hand to prevent him from rewinding. Richie stopped for briefly to look at this frozen moment, knowing that it was undoubtedly the happiest memory he held from that summer. 

He went on. Looking through the next tunnel, he saw them laying together in a hospital bed, tears in Eddie’s eyes, and a cast around his arm.

_“Can you, um… stay a little longer?”_

That echo once again. As Richie proceeded onwards, he mentally told Eddie that he would never leave his side again once he got out of the deadlights.

When he looked down through the next tunnel, he saw himself at his current age with his arms tightly wrapped around Eddie, now older too. He smiled weakly at seeing the frozen moment that they reunited, knowing that back then, his brief happiness had crumbled as soon as he saw the wedding ring.

Proceeding onwards, he saw himself admiring Eddie’s ring in the ice-cream parlour. To his right, he saw them in Eddie’s hotel room. Richie was gently cupping his cheek, and he knew they were discussing their plans for a better future together. _We’ll still get there, I promise,_ he thought, striding on with more determination.

_“We like each other, and I want to act on those feelings this time. No more uncertainty, I just want us to be together.”_

As Eddie’s voice echoed, Richie gazed down the tunnel to his left again. Another moment of theirs frozen in time. Looking forward, he thought about every frozen moment he had just seen. Even in the madness of the deadlights, everything he had witnessed in the tunnels had made perfect sense to him. There was no more confusion or uncertainty about his feelings. He knew exactly how he felt about his partner.

As he had watched himself fall in love with Eddie over and over again, one simple thought occurred— _Everything comes back to him._

He felt both calm and enamored at once as he walked further. At this point, he was barely registering where he was entering until it was too late. Once he took in the expansive size of the room, he froze. All of his thoughts about Eddie came to a sudden halt when he realized where he was.

Looking around, the lair was much more barren now. There were no webs hanging from the ceiling, nor were there any bodies in cocoons, or skeletons strewn across the floor. There was only one thing in the middle of the room. It was a throne made out of webbing, and in that throne sat Pennywise.

_I have nowhere to run,_ Richie thought. He strode towards the clown, who looked up at him. When he looked up, Richie nearly recoiled. Its eyes were now completely white, its irises appearing to have completely disappeared. Parts of its forehead had been peeled away. There was a black sludge running from both its nose and mouth, the latter of which was turned down in a grimace. The clown’s chest was concaved.

Richie already knew that this was the Losers’ doing. He felt a brief pang of pride for them, but he didn’t have much time to contemplate on their fight against It, as Pennywise grinned weakly, but maliciously at him. Richie held his breath, wondering why it was smiling.

“I told you that you couldn’t change anything,” Pennywise croaked mockingly. “You lost, Richie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, waaaay longer than I intended it to be, but I actually did have to cut out quite a lot to get it down to this length! I hope you enjoyed. I found that the deadlights always had so much potential as a concept, so naturally I got a bit carried away.
> 
> The next update will probably be a little slow coming around, but I promise that there'll be a very good reason for that. As always, if you enjoyed this chapter, please please leave feedback! Thank you for reading!


	20. Out of Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Please read the end notes before proceeding to the next chapter!** They contain important information!

Richie felt his heart stop when he heard Pennywise’s words. He had no idea what his words meant. He had constantly thought of his inability to change anything during particularly stressful moments related to his time powers. But, all of those moments felt miniscule compared to hearing from Pennywise that he had lost.

There was only thing that Richie could guess by Pennywise’s meaning of having lost. It meant that, despite their best efforts, the Losers had been unable to take It down, and that they were either dead or about to die in the real world. He suddenly hated himself. While he had weakly submitted to the deadlights, the others had fought desperately to beat It and lost, which could have been prevented with his time powers.

Despite the heavy weight of sorrow that was starting to weigh him down, he urged himself to stay calm. He knew now that the only thing he had left to do was kill the monster in front of him.

Stepping forward, he curled his hands into fists, redirecting any grief he felt into pure fury. He drew back a fist, ready to swing, but froze when he saw Pennywise hold up a hand calmly, indicating for him to stop. Even though he wanted to ignore the gesture, he found himself unable to move. All he could do was glare at the clown.

“Your friends aren’t dead,” it told him with a hint of bitterness in his voice.

Although he was still apprehensive, Richie allowed himself to lower his fist, feeling his panic submerge. Taking in Pennywise’s broken appearance once again, he figured that it was telling the truth. The Losers _had_ managed to fight against it, but Richie couldn’t tell how much strength it had left, and he was still worried, considering it was convinced Richie had lost.

“I’m not going to hurt you now. I’m dying, and I’m using the last of my energy to talk to you,” it continued, as if it read Richie’s mind.

“How sweet,” he commented sarcastically.

“We have a lot to discuss. I wanted to discuss this with you the first time you came to my lair, but Henry put a stop to that. Now, where to begin…?”

“Hey, I’ve got a starting point. What the fuck did I just go through?” Richie demanded to know, looking back to the entrance he had come from. “Did it mean anything?”

Pennywise paused to think. For a moment, all that could be heard in the room was its labored wheezing.

“No. I just wanted to have fun with you, that’s all,” it replied 

“You’re an asshole, you know that?” Richie snapped. 

“Oh, I know. Are you done wasting my time with pointless questions? We both know you have more pressing matters on your mind, don’t you?”

Richie sighed, knowing that Pennywise was right. Frankly, he was scared to ask the question that had really been on his mind. He was still completely confused by what Pennywise had said when he first arrived into the room, and he knew he needed an answer. He hesitated, not wanting to know what answer he would get.

“Okay, fine. If all us are still alive, how did we lose?” he finally asked. 

Pennywise chuckled to itself, clearly thrilled to get the chance to show Richie what he meant. It folded one leg over the other. Although it was shaking as it leant forward, it still smirked confidently at him. 

“Do you remember the storm from your visions? The one you could never fully understand?”

Richie nodded stiffly. He felt himself begin to sweat as he understood where this was leading.

“You knew, didn’t you? You knew the storm that started tonight was the same storm from your vision. It was bad at first, but now?” Pennywise began and then paused. “You have no idea how catastrophic it has become.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Richie asked quietly.

He felt himself grow nauseous. Even though his visions of the storm had been forgotten for twenty-seven years, as soon as they came back, Richie wondered how he could have ever forgotten how destructive the storm looked. And, more worryingly, how terrified he had been. If the storm from his vision truly was unfolding, he knew he needed to use whatever energy he had left to prevent it.

“The storm has already killed dozens. It still prevails. And best of all, do you want to know who’s currently out in that life-endangering storm right now?” Pennywise said. Even though its voice was weak, it still sounded gleeful.

 _No way. They wouldn’t,_ Richie thought, but that wasn’t enough to ward off the fear that overwhelmed him. He couldn’t find any words to reply. All he could do was shake his head slowly. Pennywise sat up suddenly, nodding frantically with that shit-eating grin still plastered across its face.

“Yes, Richie! They’re out there! The storm isn’t over yet, so your friends’ lives are most certainly in danger! Don’t believe me yet? Do you want to see for yourself?” it trilled. 

Pennywise got to its feet, where it almost stumbled. Once it found its footing, the clown was still swaying badly, but it still looked at Richie determinedly. It limped towards him, heaving due to its concaved chest, but tried to balance itself upright by grasping onto Richie’s upper arm. Richie shuddered at the touch and wanted to yank his arm away. 

Before he could, though, Pennywise looked all around, and then its lair began to fade away. The first thing Richie became aware of was the roaring wind, which seemed to have intensified since they first left the library. Then, he watched as its lair was replaced by the road just above the Barrens.

More trees had fallen, and if Pennywise was right about the storm being far from over, there wouldn’t be a single tree left standing in the Barrens by the time it ended. Loose flew upward in the wind, and Richie nearly moved out of the way, before remembering that this was an out-of-body experience, and thus he wouldn’t be affected by anything in the storm. 

Eventually, he spotted five silhouettes approaching, the rain briefly making their identities unclear. As they staggered forward, though, their identities quickly became clear. Bill strode forward against the wind and the rain, cradling a cocooned body in his arms as he did so. Richie realized he had left with Audra, whose eyes were glazed over. She was completely unresponsive to the rain.

He was followed by Ben, who had a protective arm around Beverly, and then by Stan and Mike. Stan appeared to be limping a little, but aside from that, all of them appeared to be relatively unscathed. They were drenched due to the torrential rain, but it didn’t seem to impede them as they strode forward, determined to make it through the storm.

Richie jumped back when he saw debris flying through the air, and then froze in terror when he saw that it was flying directly in Ben’s direction. He saw it too and froze up. Richie felt a horrible sinking feeling in his stomach. However, that quickly dissipated when Beverly saw it too, let out a terrified cry, and yanked Ben out of the way.

That was when Richie truly saw how terrified they all were. They knew that their lives were in danger out there. _Why are they doing something this stupid?!_ he asked himself, but then those thoughts came to a halt as something far more pressing occurred to him. As he looked over at Pennywise, the clown started speaking.

”You see, once they defeated me, Bill insisted on getting to a hospital to help _poor, comatose_ Audra. And now, they could all die tonight! How tragic is—“

”Where’s Eddie?” Richie asked sharply.

As soon as he realized Eddie wasn’t amongst the Losers, he felt even more terrified than he had before. He couldn’t think of any logistical reason for Eddie to not be there, but he then forced himself to calm down. He knew that if Eddie was killed during the fight, it would have been the first thing Pennywise taunted Richie about.

However, when Pennywise looked over at him with silence, Richie felt himself before to tense up once more. Then, it let out a sigh, continuing to stare him down as the scene around them slowly began to change. Water began to flow beneath their feet, and Richie looked at the clown questioningly.

”He’s still in the sewers with your physical form. Bill said it would be advisable to take you to the hospital too, but Eddie insisted on staying here,” Pennywise explained, gesturing all around him.

Richie looked around. They were back at the entrance of the sewers. The rain was thundering down against the concrete awning, but that was merely background noise to him as he looked down. His own body was laid down in the water, unresponsive. His eyes were glazed, similar to how Mike’s had been when he accidentally looked into the deadlights.

Kneeling above him was Eddie. He was gently stroking Richie’s cheek, and at first, Richie didn’t hear anything above the rain, but when he concentrated on the two figures, he heard Eddie’s sobbing. Tears were trickling down his dirt-stained cheeks. The sight broke Richie’s heart, and that feeling only intensified when he heard Eddie begin to speak.

”Please, please don’t leave me...” he murmured, pressing his forehead against Richie’s as he began to sob harder.

Seeing this, Richie leant forward, determined to reassure Eddie that he was still alive and he would never leave him. However, just as he reached out, Pennywise weakly held up a hand to stop him. It paused before speaking, and for a moment, all that could be heard was the pounding rain, Eddie’s sobbing, and the clown’s wheezing.

Then, everything began to slowly fade away until they were back in Pennywise’s lair. Richie looked around frantically, as if Eddie would still be in sight, but once again, it was only him and Pennywise. He looked at it, hoping for an explanation of any kind.

“ _Relax._ You and Eddie are safe from the storm,” it said.

Richie let his shoulders slump, feeling relief wash over him. He allowed himself to smile, knowing that Eddie would be safe from what was outside. However, he then saw Pennywise smirk at him, and that’s when he remembered its words: _You lost._ He looked at it apprehensively.

“But, you and Eddie are the _only_ ones safe from the storm. Every other person currently in Derry is endangered. Now, I’m not saying _everyone’s_ going to die, but everyone’s chances are about fifty-fifty right now. Rough odds!”

Richie felt tense. He had no idea where Pennywise was leading with this. He wondered if this was its way of taunting him. If he was stuck in the deadlights for all time, there would be no way for him to rewind and save everyone who was in danger. He frowned, noticing that even in its weakness, Pennywise was looking like an excited child ready to blurt out a big secret.

“Oh, don’t tell me you don’t understand yet. This is _your_ storm, Richie. _You_ _caused this!”_ it cackled delightedly.

As soon as it said that, Richie felt like he had been kicked. He didn’t even need to think about it. He knew the monster was right. He had been the one to see visions of the storm from the first day he gained his time powers, so the impending storm had always been connected to him.

“How?” he asked quietly. While it connected perfectly in his head, he still didn’t fully understand the logistics.

“Well, you remember that little gift of yours, don’t you? Your ability to control time? I bet you didn’t know that every single time you used that power, you were creating a rip in the fabric of time, that only got bigger and bigger each time you did it. Every death you prevented, and even all those little times you controlled time to mess with your friends, they all contributed to this, until it became too unstoppable,” Pennywise explained.

Richie felt his hands begin to tremble. He looked down at them, thinking of all the destruction they had caused. Even when he thought he was using his time powers for good, they actually contributed to something much more disastrous than he thought. He shook his head in disbelief, and then a thought occurred to him: _What if it’s just lying about all this to scare me?_ Then, he glared at it.

“How could you know all that?” he snapped.

“ _How? How,_ Richie? Who do you think _gave_ you those powers?”

Upon hearing that, Richie took a step backwards. A part of him couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but another part of him knew this made perfect sense. His time powers certainly weren’t brought about by any natural force. He felt sick. _All this time, I’ve been using powers given to me by It._

Despite the fact that It was definitely dying, the monster looked victorious as Richie tried to process what Pennywise had just said. It sauntered over to him, laying its hands on his arms, forcing him to look up.

“Why do you think I chose you, Richie? I could have given those powers to Bill, to Mike, to Beverly, to any of your friends. You know why I didn’t? Because they’d all be suspicious. They would only use those powers fleetingly. They _knew_ it would be dangerous. But you were just dumb enough to believe nothing bad could happen with them,” it taunted.

Richie remained silent. He contemplated Pennywise’s words. There was a part of him that doubted they would have been cautious with the ability to rewind time, but he knew the monster had a point; he would be the most reckless out of all of them. He took in a deep breath, making eye contact with It once more.

“Can I undo any of this?” he asked weakly, as the events of the past while, as well as trying to process everything It just told him, had left him completely worn down.

Pennywise paused before answering.

“Yes. There is a—”

It stopped suddenly as it began to let out a series of hacking coughs. It threw up a pile of black sludge, which let out the same putrid stench as the eggs Ben had crushed. It swayed for a moment before looking back up at Richie, clutching its concaved chest.

“The storm can be stopped. But I’m not going to spend my final moments explaining how. You can figure it out yourself,” it said barely above a whisper. “Now, leave me to die in peace. I wish you and your friends the worst.”

Then, It collapsed, and everything went black.

* * *

 

With a gasp, Richie began to blink rapidly in the real world. It took him a second to catch his breath as he laid there, feeling briefly paralyzed. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the shocked look on Eddie’s face. He sat there, wondering if Richie had really woken up, or if he was becoming delusional in his panic.

“Eddie? You okay?” Richie mumbled.

That was enough to convince Eddie he was back. A relieved smile broke out on his face, and he leaned down to kiss him. Once he let go, he saw that Richie was smiling too, but there was still a troubled look in his eyes. Eddie waited for him to make some quip, but when he didn’t, he concentrated on pulling Richie to his feet, gently keeping a hold of him in case he felt too weak to stand.

Then, as soon as Richie had found his footing, Eddie cupped his face. He kissed his cheek, the corner by his lips, and then on the lips once again. Once he let go, he pressed his forehead against Richie’s shaking.

“I was so scared I lost you,” he said quietly.

“You’re never going to lose me. I promise that,” Richie replied determinedly.

Sighing softly, Eddie loosely held his hand. Throughout the battle, he had been unable to focus, as he was petrified about Richie’s wellbeing. However, now that It was finally dead, and Richie was awake, he knew he no longer had anything to fear.

Once the storm passed, they could leave together, and that was what motivated him to keep hopeful. He wasn’t sure why he had decided to keep Richie in the sewers while the others went to the hospital for Audra, but there was something inside him telling him to stay put. He had a feeling they would have to stay put for a while longer, but he was willing to do it, knowing what awaited once it had passed.

“It’s over now. We killed It, which means that we have nothing to worry about anymore. You don’t have to exhaust yourself anymore,” he soothed.

He was thinking of continuing, but decided against it when he saw Richie frown. He was about to ask him what was wrong, but before he could, Richie gestured to the storm outside, which roared on.

“It’s not over! I fucking made that storm happen because of all my rewinding, and it’s going to kill everyone!” he cried out.

“What do you mean? You couldn’t have intentionally done anything like that. I know you couldn’t have.”

“Okay, not intentionally, but… but It told me that it gave me my powers because it _knew_ I’d keep rewinding for dumb reasons. And all my rewinding caused this storm. So, yeah, I _did_ cause this.”

Eddie tightened his grip on Richie’s hand. Although he was terrified after hearing about the severity of the storm, he knew that came second at that moment. His first priority was making sure his partner didn’t blame himself for something like this.

“If It gave you those powers, then it’s not your fault. You would never do something this awful on purpose. You were trying to help people, and that’s nothing to kick yourself over. Got it?” he said, trying to keep his voice gentle.

Richie bit his lip and nodded. Then, he looked back out at the storm once more. He was wracking his brain, trying to think of how to stop it. He knew that with each passing minute, the disastrous storm only became worse, and he had to put an end to it. When he saw Eddie’s questioning look, he knew he had to explain.

“It said there was some way to stop the storm. The only problem is that I don’t know how, so… I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said.

Eddie continued to look up at him. He was relieved to hear that there was a way to stop the storm, and he knew that if he and Richie brainstormed, they would find a way. He began to think quietly to himself, pondering on what Richie had told him since waking up. He thought about how each rewind had contributed to the storm, and then, something occurred to him.

The thought made him freeze up, and briefly, he wanted to discard the thought completely. But, once it entered his head, he knew that it was the solution Pennywise had refused to tell Richie. The thought scared him, but he knew if he refused to act on the solution, the storm would continue, killing several, possibly including their friends. He looked up at Richie, taking in a deep breath.

“I know the solution.”

Richie looked at him questioningly, and there was no mistaking the hope on his face. Eddie gulped. He knew Richie was going to hate what he was about to say. His hands began to tremble, and Richie looked down, alarmed.

“You have to undo every rewind. That’s the only way the damage here can be undone, I think,” Eddie told him, trying to keep his voice firm.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… you have to go back to the first time you used your powers, and let whatever was meant to happen… well, happen.”

Eddie’s voice had become soft and timid at this point. Still staring intently at Richie, he reached into his own pocket and pulled out the switchblade he had taken from Henry earlier. His hand was still shaking, but he ignored it as he looked insistently at Richie. As soon as Richie realized why Eddie was showing him the knife, he stared at him with wide eyes, shaking his head.

“You’re saying I have to go back to that day on Neibolt Street and just let you _die?”_ he asked incredulously. “No way. No fucking way.”

Everything Richie had felt in the deadlights was miniscule in comparison to what he was feeling in that moment. He wanted to believe Eddie was wrong about the solution, but in his heart, he knew he was right. The only way to stop the storm was to let Eddie die. But, even thinking of permanently losing Eddie was enough to bring tears to his eyes.

 _“No way!”_ he cried again.

“Richie, I know. I know it’s scary, but… you know it’s the only thing we can do. I was meant to be killed by Henry that day, and don’t get me wrong, I’m _always_ going to be grateful you saved me. But, I’ve been a dead man walking for the past twenty-seven years,” he explained. “I was meant to die back then, and because you stopped that, it began this… this unnatural cycle. The only way to stop it is to go back and let my death happen.”

“You understand what you’re asking me to do, right? You’re asking me to kill you. I _can’t_ do that, Eddie. You mean everything to me. Don’t make me do this,” Richie pleaded.

Eddie gazed at him, seeing how desperate he looked. He glanced back out at the storm again nervously, but then focused his attention on Richie. Gently, he stroked his cheek. Normally, that would be enough to soothe him, but Richie still had that panicked look in his eyes. He understood why he was so scared. If their roles were reversed, Eddie would have been just as frightened.

“I can’t make your decision for you. I’ll trust whatever you choose to do, but please, think it through. Our friends are in danger. All the kids of Derry are still in danger, even with It dead. All those residents we’ve never known are in danger. We can save them, so… if this is the only way, I don’t mind dying,” he told Richie.

He was starting to calm down. While he was still slightly terrified of the solution, he was ready to accept whatever was to come. Looking up at Richie, he could see that his words were getting through to him. He gave his hand another squeeze, smiling up at him.

“Really. I won’t be angry at you. You gave me a second chance at life, and while I have my regrets about some choices, I’ve never regretted being with you,” Eddie said softly.

Despite of the scrambled state of Richie’s mind, hearing those words was enough to briefly soothe him. Gazing down at Eddie, he thought back again on when he realized the depth of his feelings for him. _Can I really let him go? Could I live with myself if I let that happen?_ he thought, blinking back tears furiously. _I can’t do this. I can’t._

“There’s one more thing I need to tell you. This isn’t to influence your decision, but I need you to know this, no matter what happens next,” Eddie continued, and took a deep breath. “I love you, Richie Tozier. I’m in love with you. I have been since I was ten years old, and I am now. When you were in the deadlights, I hated myself, thinking I lost the chance to say that to you. I love you, and no matter what you choose to do, nothing will ever change that.”

The first thing Richie felt was surprise—if Eddie had loved him since he was ten, that meant there was a period of time where he had hidden feelings for Richie, which he had remained oblivious to. The second thing he felt was a mix of sorrow and happiness. Hearing Eddie’s words made him happier than he had felt in a while, but he was devastated too, as it made his decision all the more difficult.

But, he knew he had to say something back. He took a deep breath. Usually, he tried to avoid being upfront about his feelings, but he never felt anything so candidly in his life. He knew he needed to say what he needed to say, without hiding it behind quips or stupid jokes.

“I love you too, Eddie. And nothing’s going to change that either,” he said.

Eddie smiled at him, and he smiled back. Then, Richie’s smile faltered, and he was no longer able to hold back his tears. He tried to wipe them away, but he was unable to stop crying once he started.

“That’s why it makes this decision so fucking hard. I don’t know what to do,” he sobbed.

For a moment, Eddie looked up at him sadly, and then began to stroke his cheek once more. He saw a scared look briefly in his eyes, but then, he stared at Richie with an intensity that frightened him a little.

“I know you’re scared, but you have to make this decision. I know you can. Do what you need to do,” he told him firmly.

Richie looked out at the storm, watching the debris fly around outside. The rain still crashed furiously against the concrete awning. The wind roared, taking everything in its path with it. It was impossible to tell how many lives it would destroy, and that included his friends’ lives. They had all fought through so much, and come out victorious, only to have their lives endangered by a freak storm. It terrified Richie to think they might be dead at that very moment.

Then, he looked back at Eddie. The boy who he had saved, and the love of his life. He knew the crushing weight of losing Eddie would be more than his heart could handle. Eddie meant everything to him, and the one thing that had pushed him through the deadlights was the thought of the two of them returning to LA together, where he would no longer be lonely, and Eddie would no longer be trapped. They had fought so hard for their happiness, only to end up at the worst possible crossroad.

Suddenly, Richie understood his first vision. He understood why he had been so terrified. He currently living through the worst moment of his life, where he would have to make the hardest decision he could ever imagine. Nothing compared to this. Paul Bunyan, Pennywise, Mr. Peterson, and the deadlights meant nothing in comparison to this decision.

_I have to sacrifice Eddie, or sacrifice Derry. Those are my only two options here._

The two choices swirled in his mind, the consequences of both bearing down on him with a horrible weight. He listened to the storm that intended to destroy everything, and he stared at the man he loved. He took in a shaky breath. He knew what he needed to do.

 _I’m so sorry. Please forgive me someday,_ he thought.

Then, he made his impossible decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, this is where your decision comes in! Both choices are incredibly difficult to make, so it's up to you to decide how the story ends. 
> 
> If you would have Richie sacrifice Derry, **proceed to the next chapter (21), titled "Ending One: Derry"**. 
> 
> If you would have Richie sacrifice Eddie, **skip the next chapter and proceed to the final chapter (22), titled "Ending Two: Eddie"**.
> 
> Only one of these endings can be canon, so it's down to what you choose. Of course, you're more than free to read both (in fact, I would love if you did!), but your ending is based on the sacrifice you would make. 
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always, please leave feedback if you did enjoy it! And also, tell me what choice you're going to make- I'm curious to hear! Happy reading! <3


	21. Ending One: Derry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: If your choice is to have Richie sacrifice Derry, keep reading. If your choice is to have Richie sacrifice Eddie, proceed to the next chapter instead.

Richie reached for Eddie’s other hand and gently pulled Henry’s switchblade away from him. Eddie looked at him in confusion, but didn’t say anything as he watched Richie examine it, slowly turning it over in his hand.

The knife had somehow found its way back to them twenty-seven years after that fateful day. Richie stared at it for a moment. That knife been the start of all the chaos that eventually brought about the storm. He wondered how different everything would have been if it wasn’t for Henry’s impulse kill that day. It had been because of that rash decision that Derry was in danger now, but Richie knew exactly what he had to do.

Out of everything Richie’s time powers had brought about, the one thing he would never regret was saving Eddie’s life. The thought of reversing that decision now was impossible to process. He already knew that if he ever reversed that decision, he would spend the rest of his life regretting it.

He looked back out at the storm, his mind now set, still clutching the knife tightly. When Eddie lightly touched his arm to get his attention, he flinched, and then looked back at the man he loved.

”Have you decided?” Eddie asked. Richie nodded.

”I already told you, didn’t I? I’m never going to let anything bad happen to you,” he said.

He briefly saw Eddie’s eyes grow wide, stunned by his decision. Before he could say anything, though, Richie faced the world outside, placing the blade back in its protective cover. Then, he threw it out into the storm, where it was immediately swept up by the wind. It quickly flew out of sight, and out of their lives forever. He had decided that Henry’s impulse attack wouldn’t hang over their lives any longer.

Eddie watched as the knife was taken away by the storm as well. In that moment, he felt immense relief to finally see it gone, but he also felt a surge of guilt when he realized what Richie’s decision would mean for the rest of their friends, and for Derry. He felt terrified. He gripped Richie’s arm, which forced the other man to look at him.

”Richie, are you sure about this? You’ve really thought it through? What about everyone else?” he asked pleadingly.

”I have. I hate that it’s come to this, but I won’t go back. If it means I have to lose you, it’s not worth it. Besides, rewinding back that far would mean reviving It too. So all our efforts would’ve been for nothing. Losing you and bringing back that monster? I can’t. I  _won’t._  That’s too much to ask.”

Eddie bit his lip, glancing up at Richie anxiously. He understood why he’d choose to sacrifice Derry if it meant that the monster stayed dead, but he couldn’t comprehend his first reason. His head was swimming with thoughts of his friends’ endangered lives, and of the residents, some of who were now definitely dead. Looking up at Richie, he could see that he was scared too. Reaching over once more, Eddie squeezed his hand.

”Are you really sure about this? I appreciate it, but.... but you  _can_  let me die, if you think it’ll be the better choice,” he said quietly.

”No, no way. I’m not. You’re always going to be my top priority,” Richie attempted to reassure him. When he saw Eddie still looking anxious, he added, “If you were in my shoes, could you let me die?”

Eddie sharply took in his breath at that. He already knew what the answer would be. After thinking that he had lost Richie to the deadlights permanently just minutes previously, he knew he couldn’t stand to ever lose him again. Richie had lost Eddie multiple times, which made him understand Richie’s choice better.

“I could never let that happen,” he replied softly.

Looking out at the storm, which still raged on, he was terrified. But, he knew he would stand by Richie’s side no matter what happened. Sighing, he wrapped an arm around Richie’s waist. Eddie heard the creaking sound of another tree being lifted from its roots, where it wound be flung somewhere in Derry. As he heard a distant crash, he gasped, thinking of the others.

When Bill had insisted on taking Audra to the hospital, a part of Eddie wanted to object, telling him that she would be safer in the sewers than out in the streets. But he had no logical explanation for that, so he let them go. Now, though, he was wondering if he should have said something to stop them from leaving.

“Do you think the others will be okay?” he asked.

“I don’t know, but hey, they all survived fighting a giant spider, so I think they could easily survive this,” Richie reassured him.

When Eddie mentioned the Losers, Richie felt a surge of fear rise inside him. While he did believe that his friends were capable of putting up a strong fight, he also remembered that Pennywise said their lives were in danger. He hoped that Pennywise was wrong, and that they would make it out okay. That was all he could do at that stage now that his mind was made up.

Mentally, he hoped that they would forgive him. He wondered briefly if he would understand his decision, but then quickly realized that they would. For one thing, Bill would have sacrificed the entire world if it meant Pennywise stayed dead. He wouldn’t have let his efforts to take It down go to waste.

But, there was something more important that occurred to Richie. He realized that Bill would have sacrificed Derry for Audra, as would Stan for Patty, and Ben and Beverly for each other. The reason they would have done so was simple; all of them would place love above all else. That was what it came down to. Richie loved Eddie, and that was reason enough for his decision.

Defiantly, he looked out at the storm, watching as it engulfed the Barrens. It was clear to him now; It wanted a guaranteed way to continue living through Richie’s rewinding, and to punish him for his interfering with Eddie’s death. _Fuck that,_ he thought. He had fought his way through the deadlights for Eddie, and he wasn’t giving up now.

There was another distant crash, accompanied by the sound of something collapsing. Upon hearing that, Eddie’s eyes grew wide. Then, he buried his head in Richie’s shoulder, too scared to continue watching. Richie continued to watch, but he also observed how he could feel Eddie trembling against his shoulder. He ran a hand through his hair soothingly, and leaned down to his ear, so he could be heard over the pelting rain.

“We’ll get out of this together, okay? Once this is over, we can finally start our lives together. No more Myra. No more rewinding. No more It. Just the two of us, with a way better future ahead,” he whispered.

Eddie tightened his hold around Richie’s waist, still not looking out at the storm. He was trying to keep his breathing slow and controlled to avoid an asthma attack. Richie was relieved to observe that he was no longer trembling so hard. When he spoke again, Richie almost missed his words due to the rain pelting against the awning, but he was relieved he heard.

“I love you so much,” Eddie said, his voice low.

Even in his fear and anxiety as he gazed out at the storm, Richie felt a sense of comfort in his words. He knew that as long as he had Eddie by his side, he could face anything, including this storm.

“I love you too,” he replied simply.

With that, Eddie continued to keep his head buried in Richie’s shoulder. Meanwhile, Richie stared out at the storm, watching the rain pound down, accompanied by the howl of the wind. He knew it would keep going until Derry was destroyed. He watched on defiantly with the man he loved by his side, firmly set in his choice.

* * *

 

By the time morning came, the storm had passed. The sun had emerged, shining down on the wreckage of the previous night. The surviving residents either remained indoors, unsure of that was really the end, while others began to slowly emerge from their homes to clear up the debris that was strewn around their backyard.

Meanwhile, a red Chevrolet passed down the road, making its way toward the main street. Sitting behind the wheel was Eddie, the man who should have died twenty-seven years ago. He was carefully watching the road, swerving to avoid bricks, shattered glass, and branches. As he drove, he contemplated how lucky he was to be alive in that moment. He had survived the storm, and of course, he had survived all of his previous encounters with death due to one person.

That person, Richie, was sitting in the passenger seat. He had dark circles under his eyes, as he couldn’t sleep the previous night, as he spent the entire night watching the storm. He had been terrified as he wondered how much damage the storm would do, and as they now drove through the wreckage, he numbly gazed out at all the damage that had been caused.

Many buildings still stood, but nearly all of them were damaged in some way. The majority had smashed in windows and concaved rooves, but there were some that had received harsher damage. A second-hand shop was now missing a wall, its bricks scattered all along the road, and undoubtedly all the products inside were beyond repair.

Richie sat up as they passed the ice-cream parlour, seeing that all its windows had been blown out, and the inside looked wrecked. He briefly thought back on all the times the Losers had gathered there as children, and how strange it was to see a place that once meant so much of them utterly destroyed.

Upon thinking of the Losers, he felt that familiar pang of worry again. He had no way of contacting them, as his phone had been damaged at some point during the fight, as had Eddie’s. He figured that all of their phones must have been destroyed in the storm, so all he could do was keep an eye out as they drove along, hoping that he could see them.

He didn’t see them, though. He had seen a couple of people as they passed. All of them had a disorientated look as they stumbled through the streets, bewildered by the storm that had suddenly hit last night. They were stunned to see a car passing by, but Richie had to look away before he made eye contact.

As Eddie kept driving, the damage around the town seemed to become more noticeable. There were more buildings that would require months of repairs. Then, they passed the Derry Townhouse, or what remained of it. As soon as they passed the building, Richie let out a choked sound, holding his hand over his mouth to suppress it.

The building was practically reduced to rubble. All that remained was its bare structure. The rest of it was nothing more than a pile of bricks and drenched furniture. As Richie contemplated how it could have gotten so badly damaged compared to the rest of the town, he then remembered the lightning strike that resonated towards the end of the storm.

That caused him to think back to when he tried to save Georgie. He remembered It taunting him, telling him he couldn’t change anything. Then, there had been the lightning strike that destroyed Bill’s home. _Did It specifically set out to do that?_ he asked himself.

However, his thoughts were cut short as he spotted something else amongst the rubble. He saw a pair of legs dangling from the rubble, then higher up, the head of a man, his eyes wide open. He saw an arm sticking out of another place. As he panicked, a thought suddenly occurred to him that worried him severely. He began to wonder if Patty made it out, or if she was amongst the casualties.

_I’m so sorry,_ he mentally told her. She had come to this town to provide her husband with emotional support, and as a result of her good actions, she had possibly ended up a victim to the freak storm. He looked away, simply hoping that she had made it out in time.

Beside him, he heard Eddie’s breath begin to hitch. He fumbled for his inhaler and triggered a blast, taking a deep, shaky breath once again. Then, he drove a little faster, and the remains of the Derry Townhouse began to disappear in the rear view mirror.

They kept going, and despite how much it hurt to see so many destroyed buildings, Richie continued to look out the window. They kept going onwards until they reached the library. Then, Eddie pulled slowly to a stop. When they first got into the car, which had miraculously been unaffected by the storm, Richie had asked him to stop here before they proceeded any further.

Once they stopped, Richie unbuckled his seatbelt. He paused and looked over at Eddie, who still kept his hands on the steering wheel, staring anxiously out the window. Richie began to reach over to touch his arm, but before he did so, Eddie turned towards him, still looking worried.

“Do you regret it?” he blurted out. Richie was confused by the question.

“What?”

“Do you wish you rewound? I know it can’t be easy, seeing any of this—”

Richie cut him off by grabbing his hand, which had still been gripping the steering wheel. He gave Eddie an intense look, causing him to stop talking.

“Listen to me right now. I will _never_ regret saving your life for as long as I live. I’ve already come to terms that we’re going have tough consequences, but I’m willing to put up with all of that if it means keeping you by my side. Got it?” he said sharply.

Eddie stared at him in shock for a moment, and but there was no mistaking the relief on his face as well. He had been prepared to hear that Richie did regret his decision, so hearing those words stunned him. He nodded to indicate to Richie that he understood, and then gave his hand a squeeze.

“Okay, so… what do you need to stop here for?” he asked in an attempt to change the subject.

“You’ll see.”

He left the car and gazed up at the library. The glass corridor connecting the children’s and adults’ sections had been destroyed, along with all the other windows in the building. As Richie walked, glass crunched beneath his feet. As he came closer, he looked over and saw the pipe that had hit Beverly the night before, still lying on the ground.

The doors had nearly been ripped off their hinges. He stepped through, where his feet squelched in the soaking carpet. Books were flung all around the place, but he didn’t spend too long looking at them as he made his way towards Mike’s office. He pushed open the door and saw that the room had been flooded.

Thankfully, though, the item he was looking for was on a higher shelf, thus intact. He reached up towards the black safe and pulled it down onto Mike’s desk. He examined the combination lock for a moment, and then thought of the exact date that Mike joined the Losers for the first time, and then, began to dial the numbers to match that date.

The lock clicked and the safe opened. When he opened the door, he found two books. One was a large notebook, with loose sheets sticking out. The other was the black book that had caught his eye the night before. He grabbed both books and strode out of the room, then out of the library.

Eddie raised his head when he heard Richie approaching once more, gazing curiously at what he was holding. When he opened the car door and sat back down, Eddie leaned over, looking at the two books. He looked up at Richie, furrowing his brows.

“You’re seriously stealing Mike’s stuff?” Eddie asked.

“What? I was curious,” he countered.

He didn’t add that he wanted to keep them in case something _did_ happen to the other Losers, and these books would go forever undiscovered. He believed that they were still alive, and when they found each other again, he would give the books back to Mike.

For now, though, he decided to examine them. He looked at the two books, and then decided to put the book with loose pages in the back seat, and held the black book in his lap. He opened the first page, where he saw a small piece of white paper glued to the black page, with the word, “Losers” written in simple, neat handwriting.

Richie and Eddie shared a look. Eddie held the page between his thumb and forefinger and turned to the next page. The two pages were covered in newspaper clippings. The first thing that jumped out at Richie from the left page was a younger, awkwardly smiling Bill, holding up an award next to a teacher. Above, a headline read, ‘ASPIRING STUDENT WINS SHORT STORY AWARD.’ Richie smiled to himself upon seeing Bill during his college years, and knew that if he were with them, Richie would mock him mercilessly for his appearance in the photo.

Richie’s eyes flitted down the page. He saw that Mike had saved a clipping advertising Bill’s first book, and a review from a magazine about one of his later books. There was a photo of him and Audra at an award show. Richie gazed at all the photos of the years that Bill hadn’t been a part of his life, and he found himself proud of his friend. He had faced an unbearable tragedy at a young age, and still bravely led them through the horrors of that summer, and ended up becoming a successful author. _Not too shabby, Bill,_ he thought.

Then, he looked over at the next page, where he saw a picture of Stan as a young adult. He was the face of an advertisement for his accounting company, his eyes shining and full of life. There a clipping of an announcement of Stan and Patty’s marriage, accompanied by a small photo of the couple. There were a couple of other clippings, including a class picture from his graduation

Richie felt a pang of sorrow upon seeing the photos and clippings. Even though he was smiling in every photo on the page, Richie now knew that Stan was struggling heavily with his memories of the deadlights. Now that Richie knew exactly what he had struggled with, he felt a strong admiration for Stan’s decision to come back to Derry. All he could do now was hope he made it out alive.

Looking over at Eddie, he saw a sad smile on his face too. The silence grew between them, but they already knew they didn’t need to say anything. Sighing softly, Richie turned the page once again. The first thing to catch his eye on the next page was a picture of a skyscraper from England, which he quickly realized Ben had designed.

Then, his eyes flitted down the page, where he saw more photos and articles about Ben at the launches of his newest buildings. The one thing that struck Richie was that, even when he was surrounded by a team, he always stood slightly away from them, alone. He wondered, in that moment, how many years he had spent completely alone. Once again, he found himself desperately hoping that the Losers had made it out of the storm, so that Ben could finally find his well-deserved happiness with Beverly.

As he thought about Ben and Beverly, he looked at the next page, seeing that Beverly’s profile was on the next page. Her page was much fuller than the others, due to her frequent appearances in the public eye. There were pictures clipped from magazines of her next to models wearing the clothes she designed. She stood tall and stoic, but there was no mistaking the pride in her eyes.

However, one picture in particular caught his eye. It was a photo of her and a man he didn’t recognized, but the caption beneath indicated it was her husband, Tom. They were attending a high-end event, and while Tom looked picture-perfect, Beverly looked stiff and uncomfortable.

Richie frowned, fidgeting in his seat. He wondered if things might have turned out differently if she hadn’t been separated from the Losers for so long. She might have been able to avoid meeting a man like Tom. But, he admired her anyway for being able to break out of that relationship and make her way back here.

Upon realizing what Mike had been constructing, Richie sighed once again. Over the years, he had been collecting information about their lives, marking it in this black book. Mike had waited his whole life for his childhood friends to come back, and now that Richie had the book, he found himself reflecting heavily on his friends. Once again, he found himself hoping, more than anything else, that they made it out.

He had to keep hoping. If he stopped believing they could make it out, he knew he would be driven insane.

His attention was drawn back to the book when Eddie turned the page once again. There, he saw himself during his years starting off in his career, much younger, and then promotional photos for advertisements. Then, he looked at the other page, and all his sorrow was briefly pushed aside as he found himself looking at Eddie in his younger days. He looked at the photos in amusement, but before he could say anything, Eddie spoke first.

“You were really cute when you were in college,” he said quietly.

“What, and I’m not cute now?” Richie said, feigning offense. Eddie shook his head.

“No, you’re just an old man now.”

Richie continued to feign his offense, and reached over to pinch Eddie’s cheek to irritate him, but as he moved over, he saw that Eddie was still looking down at the book. He turned back to it, feeling a bit of relief that they were at least trying to return to normal. He turned to the next page, and all feelings of sorrow suddenly returned to him.

At the top of the page, Mike had placed another slip of paper reading, ‘Memories’. Scattered over the two pages were a collection of Polaroids. Many of them were fading, but Richie still was able to recognize when they were taken. A good few were taken at the first sleepover they all had, with one group shot in the middle of the first page, which had been taken by Mike’s mother.

Many of the pictures had been taken at the Barrens. There were shots of Eddie and Ben, lost deep in a discussion, of Stan pointing out a type of bird in a tree to Beverly, of Bill trying to fix his bike’s wheel, with Mike guiding him through it.

There was one shot in particular that caught his eye; one of him and Eddie with their heads together. Richie was in the middle of practicing a voice, and Eddie was laughing along. He understood why the majority of the Losers had known there was something going on between them.

He found himself gazing at the group photo again, and he felt a lump in his throat. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, promising himself that he wouldn’t start mourning. In his heart, he believed they were all still alive, and that they would meet again someday. So, he couldn’t start crying now.

Looking over, he saw that there were tears welling in Eddie’s eyes. He reached over and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pressing their heads together. That helped Eddie to calm down a little, but he still looked sadly at Richie.

“We’re going to find them again someday. I promise,” he told Eddie.

Eddie sighed and then nodded. He wanted desperately to believe in Richie’s words, but he still couldn’t shake the guilt away. But, the choice had been made. All that was left to do was to move on. With that, he started up the car again, and looked over at Richie.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Definitely. Let’s go.”

With that, Eddie began to drive again. As he drove through the destroyed town, they both tried not to concentrate too hard on it. Instead, as the road was clear, Eddie took a moment to gaze over at Richie, who looked back at him. Richie knew in his heart he made a decision he wouldn’t regret.

And so, they drove out of Derry, leaving it behind them once and for all.

* * *

 

The flight back to LA was a long one, but due to the stress of the previous night, Richie didn’t expect to sleep. However, as soon as the plane took off, he was fast asleep, curled up uncomfortably in the plane seat. For a while, there were no dreams, but then, an image occurred to him.

He found himself back in the storm. This time, though, he wasn’t hidden away beneath the awning. He was out on the path that the Losers were taking. He wanted to call to them, but found that he had no voice. All he could do was watch as his friends came closer into view.

Ben looked up incredulously at the storm. Richie could see the fear on all their faces. _I caused this. I’m the reason they’re so scared,_ he thought. Before he could think about anything else, there was a burst of light overhead. Richie watched as the lightning strike began to come down. His breath began to hitch.

_I can’t. I can’t watch them die—_

He jolted awake, taking in deep, panicky breaths. As he tried to process what he had just dreamt, he found himself worrying that every night from now on, he would be stuck with dreams of what had happened in Derry. A similar thought reoccurred to him: _I can’t._

As he began to tremble, he suddenly felt a pair of arms wrap around him. Looking down, he saw Eddie, who was beginning to stroke his arm in a soothing motion. Gently, he leaned down and kissed the top of Richie’s head. Richie didn’t move, but instead just remained there quietly in Eddie’s arms.

“I’m always going to be here for you,” Eddie whispered softly to him.

With that, Richie felt calmness overcome him again. He knew that there would be difficult times ahead as he tried to process his memories of Derry, but he would get through them. As long as he had Eddie by his side, he knew he could get through anything.

Slowly, he sat up again and gazed out the window. He blindly reached for Eddie’s hand. Eddie grasped his hand, intertwining their fingers. As Richie looked out the window, he saw that the clouds below were made up of soft pink hues.

The sky below was calm. The storm was far behind them now.

* * *

 

Richie fumbled with the keys for a moment, but eventually slid them into the lock. In the meantime, Eddie was looking around the corridor of the apartment block, amazed by how high-end it was. When he heard the click of the lock, he swivelled back towards Richie.

Pushing the door open, Richie entered the apartment, feeling like it had been a century since he was last here. He only carried one bag, as he couldn’t return to the townhouse for his original luggage. The bag was only a plastic one picked up at the airport with some candy inside, along with the two books he had picked up from Mike’s office.

Eddie followed him in, looking around his new home in awe. _I’m alive and I’m home with the man I love,_ he thought. To anyone else, that would have been a basic thought, but for him, it meant everything in the world. He stood and watched Richie retrieve the books from the plastic bag.

Richie held the black book in his hands, gazing at it. The memories of the friends he loved so dearly would forever be held in that book, but he was determined that he would meet them again someday, and add more photos to the book. If not, he decided, he and Eddie would continue contributing to the book by building their own memories together. They were going to build their own lives together.

_Whatever happens, know that I loved you guys,_ Richie mentally told the Losers. Then, he placed the black book down on the coffee table. It sat neatly atop his sheets of practice dialogue for his upcoming interviews. Straightening the book, he then strode over to Eddie.

He put his arms around his waist and kissed him softly. Then, he pressed his forehead against Eddie’s. For the first time, he didn’t feel lonely in this apartment. Even though he was still weighed down by what had happened, he knew there was a better future approaching for both of them. No more time powers. No more It. Just the two of them, in the relationship they had strived to get to.

But, the one thing they knew they would never leave behind were the Losers. Even if they never found their friends again, the memories of them would forever be with them mentally, and now physically through the preservation of the black book.

And so, away from the horrors of Derry, Richie and Eddie remained blissful in each others’ arms, knowing that they were finally able to begin their lives together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus ends the story if this was your decision! If this is the point where the story stops for you, I want to thank you so much for reading the story this far, and I thoroughly hope you enjoyed all the ups and downs of Rewind. I also hope that you're happy with your choice, of course!
> 
> I would highly appreciate any feedback you have, as I'm curious to hear your thoughts, as always! Thank you so so much for reading from the bottom of my heart!
> 
> (Now, if you're curious to see what would have happened if you chose to sacrifice Eddie, feel free to proceed to the next chapter!)


	22. Ending Two: Eddie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT: This chapter is the conclusion if you would have Richie sacrifice Eddie. If you would have him sacrifice Derry, go back to the previous chapter.

As soon as it occurred to Richie, he desperately wracked his mind for any alternative solution. But, as he thought, he knew there was going to be no other solution. Eddie was right. The only thing he could do to prevent the storm was to let him die, which would undo all the rewinds that caused this storm.

His hands began to tremble violently. As soon as Eddie saw, he reached down and took one of his hands. That caused Richie to look at him, and it only took half a second for Eddie to see how terrified he looked. He already knew his decision. He was scared, but he knew it was the only way to save everyone, and with that thought, he felt calmness override his terror.

“Richie,” he said softly to get his attention.

“I don’t want to do this,” Richie said, his voice cracking as tears began to well up in his eyes. “You know this is the hardest thing I’ll ever have to do, right?”

“I know it is, but you can do it, right? If it’s the way to save everyone, you have to. I know you can do it,” Eddie told him.

Upon hearing Eddie soothe him, his trembling only grew worse, and he burst into tears. Eddie flinched, but pulled him into a hug to soothe him. Richie buried his head in his shoulder, allowing himself to sob.

Eddie glanced up at the ceiling, listening to the furious pounding rain. He knew it was all going to end soon and everyone would be okay. That was what mattered to him at that moment, but more importantly, he wanted to make sure Richie was okay first.

“I still love you just as much. You made me happier in one day than I’ve been in a long time. So really, I can die happy, knowing I got to meet you again. I’ll never hate you for this. I mean, you really are doing the right thing here,” he said quietly.

“I love you too. I’m always going to, no matter what,” Richie murmured.

With that, Eddie cupped his face in his hands, and then brought him in for a slow, sweet kiss. The kiss felt reminiscent of the first time he had ever kissed Richie, in the shadows of the school walls. Richie closed his eyes, leaning into the kiss. For that moment, all that mattered to them was each other, and the furious wind that continued to roar just mere feet away from them.

Finally, Eddie let go, but kept their foreheads pressed together. Richie gazed down at him, taking in his every feature. He didn’t want to go back to that day on Neibolt, but he knew he had to. As Eddie stared up at him too, he felt his heart begin to race, mainly due to the fact that he knew he was going to die soon, but Richie was delaying.

“Eddie, I’m never going to forget you again,” Richie promised him.

At that, Eddie felt tears well up in his own eyes, but he blinked them back. He knew he had to be strong in that moment. So, he forced himself to continue looking up at Richie, allowing himself to smile warmly at him. As Richie watched him smile, he knew he was deeply in love with Eddie.

“That’s all I want,” Eddie said simply.

Then, he did something Richie didn’t expect. He slid the ruby ring off his finger. He held it up briefly, its shine dulled in the darkness of the sewers. He then reached towards Richie’s pocket and dropped it in, where it rest snugly. Richie gave him a questioning look, but Eddie shook his head.

”Okay, you can’t delay anymore. You need to go back. Do what you need to do,” he said in a shaky voice.

Richie nodded, tears still running down his cheeks. This was the last thing he wanted to do, but he knew there was no other way. He reached out and lightly touched Eddie’s cheek, and stared at every feature of his face. He took it all in, knowing this would be the last time he ever saw him. As he stared, he simply thought about the day he first realized he found Eddie beautiful, and knew to this day, he still thought that.

Then, with heavy reluctance, he closed his eyes. For a moment, he listened to the pounding rain, and knew that he needed to prevent this tragedy from happening. With one hand still touching Eddie’s cheek, he used his free hand to curl it into a fist. Almost naturally, memories of that day on Neibolt started to come back to him, and he could remember every smell, every sight, and every tough vividly.

Before he could fully separate himself from the present, though, he also found himself focusing on Eddie’s rapid breathing, which was panicky and becoming more wheezy with each passing moment. Then, he spoke.

”I know this means It’s going to come back, but... but it’ll be okay. I know all of you can take it down a second time,” Eddie told him, his voice sounding further away with each word. “I’ll always be rooting for you, now and—“

Much to Richie’s despair, he could no longer hear Eddie’s voice. The wind and rain began to sound far away, until he could no longer hear the storm. He could no longer feel Eddie’s cheek. After a moment had passed, he knew he was no longer in his late thirties. He was traveling back further and further as he kept that fist closed, until he could feel solid ground beneath his feet, and felt his nostrils tickled by the dust in the air. Richie knew then that he was back in the house on Neibolt street.

With a gasp, he opened his eyes and uncurled his fist. His other hand was still held in front of him, his fingers lightly curled, no longer touching anything. He stumbled forward, his fingers curling around an old, hole-ridden curtain instead. He clutched it tightly, staring down at his smaller hands, knowing he was back in that summer where they first encountered Pennywise.

Within mere seconds, Richie forgot how it felt to be an adult. He still retained his memories of adulthood, but he couldn’t remember the physical experience of growing up. As the hours would pass during that day, he would lose many of his memories. All that would remain were the memories of his chaotic few days in Derry.

His shift back to childhood was the last thing on his mind, though. Instead, he focused on looking around his surroundings to figure out exactly where he was. He let go of the curtains, looking around the room. All the furniture was covered in dust and mold, which gave him an indication of where he was. However, he was only fully certain when he turned and saw the giant window that looked over Neibolt Street. He knew he was back in the house that started everything.

In the distance, he heard footsteps creaking on old floorboards, and he didn’t even need to check outside to know it was Bill. He remembered that Bill had insisted on exploring the house that day, as he was convinced it would give him a clue about Georgie’s disappearance. _It’s still alive,_ Richie thought, shuddering.

As he continued looking outside the window, he saw Eddie come into view, walking briskly down the street. He kept his eyes averted from the house. As soon as Richie saw him, he recoiled, knowing what was about to happen. _I can’t just sit here and watch it,_ he thought, but his feet felt too heavy to lift. All he could do was watch as Eddie walked on, but then, something made him freeze, and Richie’s heart stopped.

_“Hey! Kaspbrak!”_

Henry’s furious voice struck fear into his heart. He knew exactly how this encounter would end, and he could do nothing to stop it, unless he wanted Derry to be destroyed.

Richie watched as Eddie’s eyes grew wide with fear. Then, he began to back away, and for a brief moment, Richie hoped that he actually had a chance of making it out alive. His entire body began to tremble as he watched on.

“Kaspbrak, I’m talking to you! Where the fuck do you think you’re going?!”

“I’m sorry, I really need to get home, my ma—” Eddie tried to explain, his voice timid and full of terror.

As soon as he heard that, Richie felt his heart sink. He knew he was hearing the conversation before Eddie’s death word for word. The worst part was that this time, there would be no rewinding to save Eddie. He simply had to let it happen. He felt a horrible lump in his throat build up at that.

“I don’t give a shit what your ma wants. I know you’ve been spreading shit about me, you little weasel,” Henry snarled.

 _I can’t watch this,_ Richie thought again. He turned away from the window, but instead of leaving the room, he chose to sit beneath the window. He hugged his knees as he listened to the trouble outside. He wanted, more than anything in the world, to make it stop. His knuckles were turning white due to his tight grip, but he barely noticed.

He also didn’t notice Bill’s footsteps getting closer. Bill had heard the commotion outside, and went to find Richie to see if he knew what was happening. He raised an eyebrow upon seeing Richie sitting beneath the window, looking terrified. He was about to ask if he was feeling ill, when he heard Henry speak again.

“You want to know what I heard, Eddie? I heard you’ve been telling everyone _I’m_ the one taking all those kids that’re gone missing. That’s a pretty big accusation, you piece of shit. You got any reason for spreading that shit, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I’ve never said anything like that!” Eddie cried in retaliation.

Bill ran over to the window, pressing his fingertips against the glance. His eyes grew wide upon seeing Henry and Eddie. He could see that Henry was holding something in his hand, and Eddie was looking utterly terrified.

“Whuh-Whuh-What’s E-E-E-Eddie doing here? Wuh-We nuh-need t-t-t-to stuh-stuh-stop whatever Buh-Buh-Bowers i-is… Richie?”

Looking down, Bill saw that Richie now had his head pressed against his knees, taking in deep, raggedy breaths. Richie’s glasses were starting to slide off as he kept his head down, but he didn’t notice. All he could focus on was what was happening outside. In his helplessness, he felt tears begin to well up, but made no effort to blink them back.

 _“Don’t fucking lie to me!”_ Henry roared.

 _It’s going to happen any minute now,_ Richie thought, as Bill looked frantically between the window and his friend.

“ _I’m not lying! I’m—”_ Eddie began, but then started to wheeze.

“That’s all you got to say? Stop fucking doing that and answer me you little _FUCK!”_

Then, came that horrible slashing sound. At that exact moment, Richie began to cry silently, tears rolling down his cheeks. Bill, on the other hand, let out a terrified cry, and tugged harshly on Richie’s sleeve. He didn’t budge. He didn’t even notice the way that Bill’s hand was trembling in fear.

“Whuh-Whuh-What are you d-d-d-doing?! We huh-huh-have to huh-help him!” Bill cried.

He paused for a few more moments, but when he saw that Richie wasn’t moving, he threw up his arms in resignation and sprinted out the door, determined to reach Eddie’s side before it was too late. Meanwhile, Richie just sat there, feeling a stabbing pain in his chest.

“My old man’s gonna kill me,” Henry said quietly.

Even in his sorrow, Richie could tell that Henry’s reaction to killing Eddie was more muted this time. Something was different, but Richie knew it was too late to get his hopes up. Eddie had finally met the fate he was always meant to meet. As Richie realized that, he hugged his knees tighter, shaking his head. _I didn’t want to do this, I really didn’t._

“Buh-Buh-Bowers, whuh-what did you d-d-d- _DO?!”_ Bill screamed, and then, Richie could hear his friend sobbing too.

From that point onwards, every moment that Richie had with Eddie following the undoing of his death would take on a dreamlike quality. He knew that every moment they shared would always be nothing more than a memory from another time. Instead, the harsh truth of his death became his reality, and his memories of Eddie became a refuge for him.

There would be no biking away from Neibolt Street with Eddie clinging to him for dear life. Instead, there was the harsh red and blue lights of the ambulance that arrived too late to do anything for Eddie, and the police cars that had shown up.

An officer had casually strolled past Neibolt Street about fifteen minutes after the incident, but had frozen upon hearing Bill screaming at Henry. When he rushed over, already calling for backup, he saw Henry staring down at the ground, clearly in shock. Near him was Bill, holding Eddie’s body, blood bubbling from his neck.

When backup came, they placed Henry in one car, and Bill in the other. Eddie was taken away in the one ambulance that turned up. The remaining officers began to set up the area as a crime scene, but before they closed off the area, one decided to check the house.

There, the officer found Richie, still curled up in the same position. When he pulled the boy up, he was ready to question if he was an accomplice, but it took one look at his tear-streaked face to make him realize that wasn’t the case. Quietly, he escorted Richie out of Neibolt, and into the one remaining vehicle.

As they began to drive away from Neibolt, Richie looked over his shoulder, and saw the pool of dried blood on the tarmac. Looking away, he no longer felt the panic he felt earlier. Now, he felt a numbness overtake him, as he thought about what he had lost.

He already knew that he no longer had access to his time powers, as the moment to ignite them had passed. He told himself he didn’t care about that, but a part of him wished desperately he still had them so that he could undo what had happened.

* * *

 

There was no conversation between Richie and Eddie on a park bench about his newfound time powers. Instead, there was a conversation with an officer in a solitary room, with a light bulb dangling over Bill and Richie’s heads.

The conversation had quickly turned from an interrogation into a witness’ statement, as the officer learned that they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Any suspicions he had were quelled when another officer came in to let him know that Henry had confessed to the killing almost immediately.

So, he gently coaxed the boys into talking. Bill looked over at Richie, frowning as he saw that he was staring down quietly at the floor. He had stopped crying by this point, but still remained as morose as he did in the house on Neibolt. Knowing that he was too stunned to talk, Bill decided to speak for both of them.

He gave a long, slow statement due to his stutter, but eventually, they were allowed to leave the room. An officer had informed Bill that his mother was on the way to collect him, so the two boys waited quietly on a bench.

Bill had no idea what to say to Richie to make this any easier, and deep down, he knew this would never be easy for either of them to deal with. In under a year, Bill had lost both his little brother and one of his best friends. As much as it hurt, he wanted to focus that energy elsewhere, so he decided to focus it into comforting Richie. Quietly, he reached over and rubbed Richie’s arm in a soothing gesture. The other boy briefly glanced up, but said nothing.

However, the gentle moment was broken between the pair as a car suddenly screeched up onto the sidewalk, parked sloppily. Bill and Richie sat upright when they saw the car door open and slam, and Sonia stumbled out, her eyes red and raw. Despite the fact that she was clearly devastated, that was overridden by her blind fury when she spotted the two boys.

 _“You two!”_ she screamed, storming in their direction.

Bill stood up, trying to stand tall against Eddie’s mother. Richie hesitantly rose to his feet. Sonia made a beeline for them, and for a moment, stood there with her lip quivering. Then, the fury overtook her once more, and she grabbed Richie by the shoulders.

“You were there, and you did nothing! _Nothing!_ My son is dead because of _you!”_ she screamed, tears coursing down her cheeks.

She began to shake him, hoping to get some explanation out of him to help fuel her anger. However, Richie only stood there silently, his head hung low. Her words hit him hard, mainly because she knew he was right. Eddie _was_ dead because of him, and nothing would ever change that.

Bill opened and closed his mouth, wanting to get Sonia’s attention, but knew that his stuttering wouldn’t help anything. Instead, he only watched as Richie stood there silently. His silence was enough to indicate how badly this was affecting him. He reached over, thinking of pushing Sonia’s arm away, but before he could, another car pulled up, catching his attention.

“Mrs. Kaspbrak!” Sharon Denbrough called out, as she got out of her car.

Sonia spun around, glaring at Sharon, waiting to see if she was about to scold her on the day of her son’s death. However, tears welled up in her eyes when she saw the sympathetic look on Sharon’s face. As Sharon walked over, she gently touched Sonia’s shoulder, murmured something, and then walked over to the boys.

“Come on, let’s go,” she whispered to them. “Richie, your dad said he’ll pick you up after work.”

Richie looked back over his shoulder one last time at Sonia, seeing her sob as she made her way into the police station. Looking away, he got into the car, where he was driven away for the second time that day. Even though it had been just over an hour since Eddie’s death, but the day had already felt far too long.

* * *

 

“I-I-It was Huh-Henry. I-I-I _saw_ him. H-He cuh-confessed t-t-to the puh-police too.”

While Richie sat quietly in the living room, he could hear Bill on the phone in the hallway to Beverly. News had spread quickly, and as soon as the other Losers heard, they had called Bill.

“H-H-He’s here with m-m-me… I-I-I duh-don’t know. He’s kwuh-kwuh-quiet, which is buh-bad… N-No, tuh-tell the o-o-others duh-don’t come o-o-over. H-He’s leaving suh-suh-soon. I-I-I think wuh-we should wuh-wait to m-m-m-meet a-a-at the f-f-f-funeral… Y-Yeah, suh-see you.”

When Bill hung up the phone, he sighed and pressed his head against the wall. Ever since they arrived at Neibolt, everything that happened felt like a blur he could barely process. He could still smell the blood, and he wondered if he could ever forget it. Now that he finally had a quiet moment to himself, he had no idea how to begin to decipher how he felt.

As he did this, he had no idea that his mother had been listening from the kitchen. When the conversation ended, she looked out into the hallway, seeing him clearly distressed. Ever since she had gotten the call about Bill witnessing Eddie’s death, it had been an eye opener, as she realized that she had been neglectful towards him throughout the search for Georgie. Now, he was dealing with another tragedy, and she knew he needed a supportive parents more than ever.

She wondered if he could forgive her, but she knew she needed to start somewhere to make amendments. So, she strode out into the hallway, which caused Bill to look up. For a moment, they stood there, simply facing each other. Then, Sharon pulled Bill into a tight hug, softly stroking his hair. Bill stood there in shock for a moment, and then, with tears welling up in his eyes, he hugged her back, feeling more loved than he did in several months.

Curious about the footsteps in the hallway, Richie got up from the sofa and peeked around the side of the door. There, he saw Sharon and Bill hugging each other, and Richie briefly remembered the moment that Sharon forgave Bill in the deadlights. He smiled sadly.  He was relieved that they were making amends at an earlier stage in their lives.

He turned around and went back into the living room, deciding to leave them to have their private family moment.

* * *

 

His father had collected him a few hours later. Wentworth had rushed out of work as soon as he could once he heard the news, he had been desperate to get out as early as he could.

Ever since the string of murders had started up in Derry, he had been worried his son might become one of the victims, and while he was relieved Richie hadn’t been attacked, he knew that helping him through the death of one of his friends was going to be one of the hardest things he had done as a father. He had known that Richie had been particularly fond of Eddie, so he figured he wasn’t taking it well.

The car ride back home was silent. Wentworth constantly glanced over at Richie, trying to think of something to say, but had no clue how he would even begin. He didn’t know if he should try and alleviate the mood, or try to say something supportive. By the time they reached their home, he was at a loss.

At the time that Maggie would usually start making dinner, instead she sat beside Richie on the sofa, with Wentworth sitting on his other side. Richie shifted uncomfortably, feeling the pressure of the silence between the three of them. Maggie looked at Wentworth pleadingly to say something, as she was also at a loss.

“Hey, buddy, listen to me,” Wentworth said gently.

Richie looked up at him curiously, as did Maggie. Wentworth thought about his words carefully before proceeding.

“What happened to Eddie was horrible. No child deserves to meet a fate like that, and I’m sorry about what happened to him. But, you know what? I’ve been thinking of all the other kids that died this summer. You remember the Corcoran boy? How he had no friends, and died scared and alone?

“I think that, unlike that boy, Eddie could go with happy memories. Knowing he was loved. And I have a feeling you’ve been the cause of a lot of those good memories. You need to take the time to be upset, of course, but… I think it should make things a little easier that he passed on knowing he was loved very much,” Wentworth explained slowly.

As soon as he stopped speaking, Richie sat up straight, beginning to tremble. He could feel himself coming up short on breath, and found himself suddenly thinking he was the one who needed an inhaler. Hearing his father speak about the memories that he developed with Eddie, he was struck by the fact that he still retained memories that Eddie would never live through.

Maggie lightly touched his shoulder, suddenly alarmed by his tense display. She shared a worried look with Wentworth, who was frowning, concerned he said the wrong things. In that moment, they felt helpless. They always regarded their son as being bold enough to handle anything thrown his way, but in that moment, they knew he was simply their heartbroken child, and they had no way to make him feel better.

“I’m tired. Can I go to bed now?” Richie asked quickly.

“Oh, um… of course. If you want to come downstairs at any stage, we’ll be here,” Maggie told him.

With that, he leapt from the couch and bounded towards his room, shutting the door behind him. He laid down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. As he tried to get his breathing under control, he tried to push away the memories that were crowding in his head.

His hand subconsciously moved towards his pocket, where he felt something made of metal. He grasped it, pulling it out of his pocket, and his eyes widened. Gleaming in his hand was a beautiful ruby ring, and at once, he remembered the last thing Eddie ever did for him.

He gazed at it for another moment, and then placed it carefully on his bedside locker. Mentally, he promised himself that he would keep onto it for all his life, and when the ring would eventually fit him, he would always keep it on him. For now, though, it would remain on his bedside locker. He continued looking at it, only stopping when his eyes began to drift closed.

That night, he dreamt of two boys laying together in a hospital bed, one making a promise to the other that he would never leave him.

* * *

 

The sun shone magnificently on the day of Eddie’s funeral. The turnout, as it had been for the previous victims, was quite large. Richie’s parents were unable to go due to work, but Sharon promised that she would keep an eye on him. She hung back as Bill met up with the rest of the Losers.

It had been the first time they had reunited as a full group since Eddie’s death. The others had believed Bill was exaggerating about how subdued Richie had been, but when they saw him that day, they were struck by how silent he was.

As they walked behind the procession, Bill kept glancing over at Richie, making sure he was okay. Stan kept his eyes fixated on the ground, willing himself to be strong. Beverly rapidly blinked back tears, and when Ben caught sight of this, he gently laid a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at him weakly, but gratefully.

Richie took a moment to look at all of them. He thought again of that final impossible decision he had to make, and felt a sense of comfort in knowing he had definitely saved his friends from a cruel fate. Then, he looked up ahead at the white coffin, and felt a pang of pain once again.

As he let out a shuddering sigh, Stan raised his head and gave him a questioning look. Richie forced a smile back, which didn’t convince Stan at all. However, he knew they had no time to talk, as the pastor was waiting to begin.

Towards the top of the procession, Sonia’s wailing could be heard clearly. Her neighbour and Mr. Keene provided support for her as they walked. Even though her grief was heartbreaking for many of the other funeral goers, Richie felt a pang of hatred for her. He knew that if Eddie had lived, he would have spent his whole life trying to escape from his mother’s chokehold.

Closing his eyes, he willed himself not to think of that now.

Once they gathered, Richie glanced around. Many of their classmates had shown up, along with residents that he didn’t recognize. One attendant in particular caught his attention, though. Mike was standing with his father, gazing sadly at the coffin. Richie stared at him for a moment, finding it difficult to believe he was back in a time where Mike had yet to join the Losers’ Club. His attention was drawn away from Mike as the pastor began to speak.

For the most part, it was everything that Richie had heard before. It was scary to think about, but the pastor had become adjusted to giving eulogies for children’s funerals by now. He discussed the importance of praying for his young soul, and for the community to support his grieving parent in her hour of need.

As he spoke, Richie stared down at the coffin, in disbelief that the boy he loved was in there. Although he didn’t see, the Losers were also looking down, in equal disbelief. They couldn’t fathom that one of their friends could have died by Henry’s impulsive move.

Richie’s attention was drawn back to the pastor when his speech took a slight diversion, however.

“In ordinary circumstances, now would not be the time to discuss the perpetrator of a sinful act such as this, but I feel this may be worth discussing. The boy who committed the unforgivable act is currently awaiting trial, and it is believed he won’t be back on the streets of Derry for a long, long time. As terrible as this ordeal has been, I believe that Eddie can rest easier, knowing that this town is safe from danger.”

Once the pastor stopped speaking, Richie found himself interpreting his words a different way. Derry _was_ safe, but not from the threat that the pastor was discussing. Instead, Derry was safe from the impending storm. Richie would never use his time powers, and thus, there would never be any destruction caused as a result.

Richie allowed himself to smile a little. He would always admire Eddie for his bravery in pushing Richie to sacrifice him for the sake of the town. _I’m always going to be proud of you, Eds,_ he thought. Then, he put his hand back in his pocket, where his hand brushed against something familiar once again.

He pulled the coin Eddie had given him out of his pocket.

For a moment, he just gazed at it, and then remembered how often he would turn it over and over during difficult decisions. He knew there would be no more forcing himself to choose between two impossible options. He approached the open grave, where the coffin sat. He held the coin between his thumb and forefinger.

Eddie had returned the ring to Richie, so he figured this was only right. Sighing, he let go of the coin, and it landed on the coffin with a clink. He took a step back, still smiling slightly, but he could already feel tears pricking his eyes. He blinked rapidly, but knew it was pointless.

He stifled a sob as tears began to run down his cheeks. He felt his body begin to tremble, and to his dismay, he felt that his legs were growing weak. He felt himself begin to stumble, but before he fell, he felt an arm tightly grab his waist.

“Guh-Got you, Richie. I-I-I’ve a-a-always g-g-got you,” Bill told him softly.

Richie looked at Bill with wide eyes. However, his attention was drawn away when he felt another pair of arms pull him into a light hug, and a head rest on his shoulder. Looking down, he saw Beverly, tears in her eyes too. Richie tried to wriggle his arms free so that he could lift his glasses to wipe his eyes, but he couldn’t move.

Then, Stan and Ben joined in on the hug too. He trembled in their arms, still staring straight ahead at the coffin. Beverly looked up at him again, seeing that he was holding his breath, as if willing himself to hide how he felt. He hated being so vulnerable in front of everyone, but as he saw the soft look she was giving him, he softened too.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to hide anything,” she told him.

Then, finally letting everything go, Richie began to sob. The Losers pulled him in tighter, but he managed to lift a hand to wipe away some of the tears. His breathing was shaky and ragged, and he was worried that he was verging on hysteria, judging by the rise and fall of his chest.

As he cried, the rest of the onlookers became alarmed, as his display of grief was the most raw there, and it was made all the more heartbreaking by the fact that they were seeing this from a child. Mike left his father’s side, slowly approaching the Losers. He hovered awkwardly for a moment, unsure how he could show support. Then, Ben raised his head, and opened up an arm. Mike walked towards him, and joined in on the hug. Even then, the Losers felt like he was meant to be there.

So, in the arms of his friends, Richie cried and cried. The pain in his heart felt insurmountable. He loved Eddie dearly, and knew even as the years passed, he always would love him. He didn’t know how he could live the rest of his life without Eddie, but he knew he had to try.

The one thing that brought him comfort was that he knew he wasn’t alone. As he cried in his friends’ arms, he felt so much love for each and every one of them. He knew that he would never be fully alone.

As he lifted his head, there was a light wind that brushed his hair against his face. That was all there was. The storm was far away from Derry, and his dear friends were safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus ends the story if this was your decision! If this is the point where the story stops for you, I want to thank you so much for reading the story this far, and I thoroughly hope you enjoyed all the ups and downs of Rewind. I also hope that you're happy with your choice, of course!
> 
> I would highly appreciate any feedback you have, as I'm curious to hear your thoughts, as always! Thank you so so much for reading from the bottom of my heart!
> 
> (Now, if you're curious to see what would have happened if you chose to sacrifice Derry, feel free to go back to the previous chapter!)


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